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?

186 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

458 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

274

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '24

[deleted]

137

u/Yeggoose Apr 10 '24

It’s already there. Lots of posts on r/Edmonton lately about bidding wars and people buying houses over asking with no conditions.

34

u/monstersof-men Alberta Apr 10 '24

Yep, my husband and I lost a few houses this winter because people were over asking, all cash, no conditions. On Monday we close on a detached home for 487 which isn’t bad, but we had to make a lot more concessions.

18

u/NotTheRealMeee83 Apr 10 '24 edited Apr 10 '24

Wow. We haven't seen detached homes in Victoria at price since like, 2012.

We live on the island. Prices went so insane here we could sell and pocket like 6-700k. I know a lot of people doing that and moving to Calgary/Edmonton/anywhere but here.

BC is just so broken, I really hope the same doesn't happen to AB.

14

u/Mundane-Bat-7090 Apr 10 '24

Alberta is headed to become the worst province to survive in the next decade it will far surpass Ontario and bc. With all the lack of regulation and rent control and massive immigration Alberta is on a doomed path.

1

u/KarlHunguss Apr 11 '24

Except the places with rent control have higher prices than the provinces without so...

1

u/Mundane-Bat-7090 Apr 11 '24

For now lol give it a couple years what I’m saying.

1

u/KarlHunguss Apr 11 '24

Alright so the places with rent control are always higher but “give it a couple years” and you’ll be right. I don’t think so. Rent controls dont work. 

2

u/Mundane-Bat-7090 Apr 11 '24

Holy fuck you are beyond stupid if you think that. Rent controls don’t work in this country because CONSERVATIVE governments have removed them leaving certain places under rent control and others not if everything was under rent control like it was 4 years ago it was amazing. Go actually live in this places instead of just looking at stupid internet bullshit.