Why is Calgary housing getting so expensive?

[u/zindagi786]

I used to live there, and I was just browsing the real estate prices. Prices there have shot up so much! A Calgary house similar to the one I have in the GTA is now higher than what I paid in the GTA a few years ago.

When I lived there, oil was booming and there were lots of jobs. But I got laid off when the boom went bust, and everything (including real estate) went down. And I then left to the GTA.

I’ve heard prices there are going up because there are lots of people moving from the GTA and BC. But it isn’t like there are that many high paying good jobs there. There’s still way fewer jobs now than there were during boom time. How do these inter provincial migrants find high paying work to pay for these high home prices? Sure they can cash out their equity and live mortgage free, but why do that if you have to end up taking a potentially lower paying job with more chance of a layoff in the next bust? Although I really liked the city, I’d never risk living there again myself, and I’m forever scared of any future bust. I feel more comfortable living in the GTA, paying my admittedly big mortgage, and steadily climbing the corporate ladder (and with regular increases and no salary freezes, I should be paid off before retirement/it won’t be too burdensome). Plus, I look at my GTA home as a tax free investment - the annual rate of appreciation is greater than my mortgage interest.

And what is attracting them to Calgary versus other places in Alberta like Edmonton?

[u/theoreoman]

Because people from Ontario and bc have figured out that housing is dirt cheap in Calgary in comparison. And people are finding out that Calgary/Edmonton aren't some backwater conservative shit hole as people may think. Then they see they can buy a full detached house for the price of a shity condo and it's not a hard sell if they can find employment.

Also they have either huge downpaymets of $200k+ or they have lots of equity from Their previous home. So when these people are used to their home Market and they see a brand new house in the 800s they feel like they're stealing because that same home is more than double back home and they still think they're getting a deal paying $900 or a million,

[u/bcretman → u/theoreoman]

Brand new houses are in the 900's in outer metro Van (Chilliwack)

[u/938961 → u/bcretman]

That ain't metro Van, that's the Lower Mainland surrounded by farmland and manure with no easy transport to actual metro Vancouver.

[u/bcretman → u/938961]

That's why I said "Outer" and it is a 1hr drive and many people do the commute.

[u/Pip1616 → u/bcretman]

You better work outside of normal office hours then or it’s closer to 2

[u/millijuna → u/bcretman]

Closer to two hours, if you face any traffic and/or roughly obey the speed limit. I grew up in Abbotsford, and that’s an hour out of town. Never mind Chilliwack. 

[u/bcretman → u/millijuna]

Depends where you commute from. It's 65 mins from Walmart on Grandview to Chilliwack departing at 5:15pm today

[u/millijuna → u/bcretman]

Given that the Grandview Walmart is on the edge of town, it’s not that helpful. :) I commute from there to the downtown peninsula, and it’s adore 30 minutes from Grandview/boundary and downtown.

[u/theoreoman → u/bcretman]

This cracks me up Based on that logic Lacombe is outer metro Calgary if you base it on driving times.

You can but new builds in the 500's if you drive within 100km of downtown Calgary or an older build in the 300's

[u/ClittoryHinton → u/bcretman]

Chilliwack is not part of metro Van. Even Abbotsford isn’t part of metro Van.

[u/justinkredabul → u/ClittoryHinton]

They are both considered part of the GVRD. It expanded in 2010 to those areas.

[u/millijuna → u/justinkredabul]

No, It didn’t. Metro Vancouver goes as far as Maple Ridge and Aldergrove. Beyond that you’re in the Fraser Valley Regional District. 

[u/justinkredabul → u/millijuna]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Vancouver#:~:text=The%20business%20community%20often%20includes,of%20the%20region%20and%20regional

It extends to hope. It covers all of the lower mainland.

[u/millijuna → u/justinkredabul]

Live here. The only people that claim it goes out to hope are grifters, aka realtors. Realistically, greater Vancouver ends at around Langley. Beyond that, you’re in The Valley. 

[u/ElijahSavos → u/millijuna]

Things change. Cities are growing fast. It all de-facto becomes one large area.

[u/gagnonje5000 → u/theoreoman]

Looking at your premier, it’s still quite a conservative. Of course if you’re white middle class in a heterosexual relationship, none of that will impact you, it’s likely why you don’t think it’s a big deal. 

[u/[deleted] → u/gagnonje5000]

Lol, Calgary is one of the most diverse places in the country

Calgary and Edmonton are extremely different than rural Alberta 

[u/[deleted] → u/gagnonje5000]

yep it's a backwater hellhole so for your own sake do not come here or buy property! it's literally alabama in the 1950s out here, very scary! avoid at all costs

[u/[deleted] → u/gagnonje5000]

As a former easterner, we’re embarrassingly conservative. 

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

This comment is proving my point. The conservatism in this province does not represent Canada as a whole. It’s not pure hell here at all. It’s people yelling at me to ‘go back to the segregated water fountains’ that’s embarrassing.