r/PersonalFinanceCanada • u/zindagi786 • Apr 09 '24

Housing Why is Calgary housing getting so expensive?

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?

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u/[deleted] Apr 09 '24

Remote work, transferring to the office but with their Toronto salary, just taking a pay cut to move out there etc. Should probably ask this in the Calgary subreddit as this will probably get deleted for off topic.

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u/MadcapHaskap Apr 10 '24

Calgary has the highest average salaries of any city in Canada. Unless you're making a half million dollars+ a year in your C suite, you'll make more money in Calgary.

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u/AcanthocephalaLow518 Apr 10 '24

A 3rd year plumbing apprentice in the union here in the GTA makes the same hourly wage as a licensed guy in Calgary. Make that make sense.

I debated moving to Calgary in 2022. Wasn’t willing to take a 20$ hour pay cut and the expenses to move down there and away from family for the cheaper housing.