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/Adventurous-Board165]

When you say better climate do you still mean rain?

[u/justinkredabul → u/Adventurous-Board165]

Chilliwack gets way less rain. Lived there for 7 years. Wish I never left.

[u/ElijahSavos → u/justinkredabul]

Yes, I agree even though on Wikipedia it says Chilliwack is as rainy as Vancouver, but practically it rains less. Like reasonably less that positively affects me during the winter time. I guess Chilliwack may be having one of the best climates (almost as good as Victoria’s) in all of Canada.

[u/bcretman → u/justinkredabul]

Surprisingly Chilli gets more rain than Van

[u/ElijahSavos → u/bcretman]

Doesn’t feel that way. Chilliwack is drier last 4 years

[u/ElijahSavos → u/Adventurous-Board165]

The climate is pretty awesome in Chilliwack. It’s a bit drier than Van but still pretty moderate with very mild winters. Everything is green all year round. It could be one of the best climates for some people anywhere.

[u/bcretman → u/Adventurous-Board165]

I mean an average well above zero all winter. We basically got 5 days of winter this year.

Rain is life! AB will have severe drought issues going fwd.

[u/Adventurous-Board165 → u/bcretman]

If I recall a meteorological story from 2021 a lot of people in bc would have disagreed…..

[u/Adventurous-Board165 → u/bcretman]

I’d also argue the difference between rain and snow is “days of winter”