More growth is expected in 2024 for the luxury home market. “In the 25 years we have been selling homes, we have never experienced a January market this crazy with homes selling within days of being placed on the market.” – Rachelle Starnes
This estate-style home is nestled on 1.5 acres of land and features an elevator, a secondary spice kitchen, a rec room and more.
This four-bedroom house has a fully equipped media room, a home gym and an impressive wood-burning fireplace.
This 4,851-square-foot Elbow Valley home in Rocky View county is listed at $3.2 million. Courtesy, Coldwell Banker Mountain Central.
The home’s stunning Georgian architecture includes a grand entrance, a balustrade terrace, limestone columns and traditional landscaping.
Calgary’s luxury sales are declining, yet the segment’s relative affordability in Calgary is generating steady interest.
Sotheby’s International Realty Canada reports Calgary was the only large market in the nation to show sales growth in 2022 over 2021.
Relative to other cities, Calgary is doing well, with a modest year-over-year decline in September.
Check out these three Calgary properties that are for sale and feature outdoor spaces that are perfect for entertaining.
“We have not seen this level of demand since 2008 for luxury properties,” – Rachelle Starnes
Calgary’s pace of home sales growth is showing signs it might start to ease
We are honoured to be quoted in this article
Deep price discounts and rising interest from a new generation of wealthy buyers are driving the most activity seen in several years in Calgary and surrounding region’s ultra-luxury market, says a realtor specializing in high-end properties.
“We’re seeing more buyers who have chosen to invest more in a home because they’re not buying the recreational property … because they can’t travel and don’t know when they will be able to travel,” says realtor Rachelle Starnes with the Starnes Group at Coldwell Banker Mountan Central in Calgary….
Published by the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® program, The Report 2021 analyzes the latest trends and data provided by leading influencers from The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, WealthEngine, Wealth-X, Unique Homes, and in-the-field real estate specialists.
Our Team advertises in local, national and international publications bringing potential Buyers back to our website to view all of our properties. Our Team uses a cross section of print media, social media, Far West bus benches and event marketing.
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All of the reasons it ranked so low in our Best Neighbourhood survey are the same reasons residents love living here.
The results of Avenue’s Best Neighbourhoods survey are based on what the respondents say they value most in a neighbourhood. Each year we adjust the amenities and characteristics we ask about based on previous responses and available data, but try as we might, the answer to the question what makes a neighbourhood great has proven to be both subjective and personal. Although our results show the average response, in truth there seems to be very little consensus. The lowest-ranked neighbourhood this year perfectly exemplifies why.
With no public schools, no library, no grocery stores nor restaurants of any kind — indeed, no business licenses registered in the entire community — the lowest-ranked neighbourhood is so devoid of action that it doesn’t even have a Walk Score or a Transit Score. In many places it doesn’t even have sidewalks.
The neighbourhood is Bel-Aire and it’s not only the last-placed neighbourhood this year, it was last year as well. And far from being what most Calgarians would agree is the worst, it is in fact one of the city’s toniest addresses. “It’s considered to be one of the most prestigious ‘old money’ areas in the city,” says Rachelle Starnes, president and CEO of The Starnes Group of Coldwell Banker Mountain Central. “Many famous philanthropists call Bel-Aire their home.”
Sandwiched between Elbow Drive and the Glenmore Reservoir, with Mayfair (with which it shares a community association) to the south and the Calgary Golf & Country Club to the north, Bel-Aire is at the outer reaches of what is considered “inner city.”
While there are some recreational facilities and small green spaces and access to North Glenmore Park, it ranks about in the middle for these things compared to other areas of the city. However, when we talked to Bel-Aire residents, they told us one of the main attractions was that the neighbourhood doesn’t have the very amenities our survey asks about, and that are the main draw for so many other areas of the city.
Bel-Aire residents are a fiercely loyal group and they pay dearly to live in the neighbourhood. In fact, it has the highest median residential tax assessment of any community in the city. At the time of writing, the lowest-priced property for sale in Bel-Aire was listed at $1,595,000. It is also a very homogenous neighbourhood, not only in the sense that it is completely residential but also that there are no multi-family homes and almost 90 per cent of the homes are owner occupied.
The neighbourhood is quiet. There is no cut-through traffic and very few cars parked on the streets. It also happens to be beautiful, featuring large lots with expensive homes that owners clearly take pride in maintaining. The Starnes Group currently shares top billing for the number of sales of homes in Bel-Aire with a value over $2 million over the last 15 years, and Starnes notes that buyers value the mature landscaping and huge yards.
Bel-Aire does rank in the top half of neighbourhoods in our measure of engagement. “The big draw is the sense of community,” says Doug Lavoie, who has lived in Bel-Aire for 15 years. “It’s a sort of old-style of neighbourhood. There’s a sense that people are looking out for you.”
It is clearly a very desirable community for those who live there — but also clearly one that is out of reach for the vast majority of Calgarians. It also isn’t the kind of neighbourhood that you can build a city full of — one with nothing inside of it, but lots within reach of it.
Fortunately for Calgarians, while we rank the city’s Best Neighbourhoods, what we’ve found over the past years is that there is a lot to offer in Calgary as a whole and that this is, overall, a great place to live. Because there is so much difference in what Calgarians are looking for in a great neighbourhood, this year we created an online tool where you can rank your own criteria and get your own Best Neighbourhoods results. Try the filter at AvenueCalgary.com/YourBestNeighbourhood.
Timing matters and the best time is now to get into Calgary’s condo market. This is based on two very important factors. Calgary has an aging population and there is a lack of larger condominiums available in Calgary. Yes, Calgary has welcomed many new condo developments but most suites are under 1000 sq ft. This might surprise you but there are currently only 17 suites available that are 2000-2500 sq ft in the entire city.
Like many countries, Calgary is experiencing the overall aging of its population. There are currently 133,960 Calgarians aged 65 years and older. This number is expected to double to 225,000 in 20 years. Adding the most pressure is the baby boomer generation, those born between 1946 and 1965. This supports a recent finding where luxury detached homes in most markets across the country. “Somewhat unusual in historical terms, and reflecting an important demographic shift happening across North America, appreciation in the condominium market is outpacing the traditional target for larger value residential property investment, the detached house” said Phil Sopher, President and CEO of Royal LePage.
If you are a baby boomer and have been thinking of downsizing here’s what some are doing as they prepare for their senior years. “We have a number of buyers who have bought a condo for retirement and are renting it out until they are ready to make the move. They just want are ready to move out of the large family home and into a more lock and go lifestyle” said Grant Murray, Senior Vice President, Sales at Concord Pacific. The Concord is Calgary’s newest luxury riverfront condo development located in Eau Claire.
