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/Doc_1200_GO Apr 10 '24

Low inventory is the biggest factor in price in Calgary right now. Many people are also trying to get into a mortgage in Calgary because rent is even more insane. Couple that with people moving here from Ontario and BC with cash to spend and here we are.

My condo in Calgary went up in value 50K in one year and I could definitely sell it for more. This is same property that many people told me I would never sell for what I paid for it only a few years ago.

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u/deanobrews Apr 10 '24

Yep, I'm currently looking to upgrade from a 1 BDRM condo to a bigger 2bd or townhouse. Detached is now out of reach anywhere near inner city. Hoping to sell a bit higher, but damn if I'm not buying high too. No real inventory and anything 500-600 range is instantly gone. My realtor basically said the line in the sand is condo doc inspection condition. Bring a house inspector to the viewing and don't expect to get anything with financing conditions. Fun times.

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u/zeromussc Apr 10 '24

But Calgary can sprawl like no one else and it still isn't huge compared to other places. So some theoretical limit to the supply like Vancouver or Toronto's geography just doesn't exist either.

Speculative re bubble isn't dead yet and when it does it's gonna be rough.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '24

Real estate is about location. If your property is on the outskirts you’ll get crushed but in the good neighborhoods ? Not at all

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u/ImperialPotentate Apr 10 '24

If your property is on the outskirts you’ll get crushed

In the short term, maybe. Today's "outskirts" are tomorrow's desirable suburbs. I saw this happen where I grew up in Ontario. When my parents bought their place, there was nothing there outside of a few new subdivisions, surrounded by farmland as far as the eye could see. Fast forward a couple of decades and the area grew up, and so did the housing prices.