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Swimming against the stream of major centres across Canada, housing affordability in the Calgary-area continues to show encouraging levels of improvement nationwide in the second quarter of 2012, according to the latest Housing Trends and Affordability report by RBC Economics, released last month. The report identifies the significant drop in utility bills in Alberta, as the chief reason behind the lower homeownership costs in the province. "The sudden reversal of earlier electricity rate inc... Read Full Post

For people who like to walk to where they shop, there are definitely some Calgary neighbourhoods that are more pedestrian-friendly than others. Here is a guide to some of the popular shopping districts in the city, and the nearby communities: Calgary Shopping Districts Uptown 17th Avenue Uptown 17th Avenue is a popular shopping district between 2nd and 14th Street SW that has gained national recognition as one of the top retail locations in Canada. This eclectic strip offers everything from f... Read Full Post

Downtown office space in Calgary is in fairly high demand, and although most tenants would say their rent is too high, based on an article in efinancialnews.com, Calgary is a bargain compared to these international cities: #10:Zurich, Switzerland - Average occupancy costs: $98 per sq. ft/ per year #9: Paris, France: Average occupancy costs: $106 per sq. ft/ per year #8: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Average occupancy costs: $109 per sq. ft/ per year (after an 8% drop in 2011) #7: Sydney, Australia:... Read Full Post

The headline in the Calgary Herald read, "Luxury Home Sales Booming in Calgary - Sales over $1 million highest since 2007." For me, this cast a needed glimmer of hope on our economy. When the big ticket houses start to sell, you know people are feeling more confident about the market and overall economic picture. Other good news that came out of this article - a high percentage of the luxury sales were the result of current Calgary residents, who previously may have been fence sitting, are no... Read Full Post

Calgary real estate report for March 2012 indicates nothing but sunny weather and blue skies ahead. Not to be overly optimistic, but the latest Calgary Economic Analysis for March 2012 reports nothing but increases for many of our key housing indicators. Looking at March 2012: Residential sales in Calgary reported 2,647 in unit sales. This was a 16.5% increase compared to 2,273 in March 2011. Calgary Sales to New Listings at 58.45 was slightly elevated by 12.5% from 51.95 in March 2011. The A... Read Full Post

The Southeast Calgary hospital is located immediately to the south of Auburn Bay community at 196th Avenue and Deerfoot Trail S.E. According to Tracy Wasylak, vice president of South Health Campus, the hospital will start opening in stages: Out-patient and clinic areas in Spring 2012 Inpatient, emergency and critical care will follow. Women's health services and a special care nursery. By 2013, the hospital should be fully operational with 298 beds, 11 operating rooms and 183 physicians. This... Read Full Post