MoneySense.ca has named Calgary as 2013's Best City in terms of weather, employment rate, housing prices, property tax, and other factors. It isn't surprising at all if a lot of people start moving near or even in the City. If you are having trouble picking out the house you want, then read on and the following tips might be helpful:

• The Neighborhood – Aside from choosing the house itself, you need to find a good neighborhood. Find out if the community has local markets, ease of access to public transport, schools, and other things you might need. Some of the neighborhoods that have been acknowledged recently as good places to live in Calgary include Arbour Lake, Acadia, and Varsity.
  
  
• Closer or Farther from the Center? - Like other cities, homes near downtown are more expensive because of the location advantage. If you don't mind the commute, then a home located a bit far off the city center can be cheaper.
  
  
• The Quadrants – Calgary is subdivided into different quadrants (Southwest, Northwest, Southeast, and Northeast), and each has their own advantages. For example, Northeast is closer to the airport while the Southeast is closer to commercial and industrial areas.
  

You can check several resources online to guide you in finding a new home. Research is important when buying a home, so be sure to read about the surroundings of your prospective house before you sign any contract.

Reports that surfaced in October suggest that the housing market in Calgary, Alberta is currently at a price hike, which is sending people on the fringe between buying a house now or waiting for rates to subside. This is a constant debate in the real estate industry, where some people advise that people should take the leap while the prices are still low, and others claiming that waiting for a better window is the way to go.

The rise in the housing market is a simple matter of economics; as the supply goes down (Calgary home inventory is low in all categories), the demand will rise. This demand can only be offset by allowing the prices to increase as well, thus the national price increase of 1.2% to 4.1% within the third quarter of 2013.

Advocates of securing your home purchase as soon as possible say that the soaring prices of homes and mortgages will only increase in the coming years. Hence, it should be best to get yourself started now, and have it refinanced should the market begin to subside significantly.

Some people on the other hand argue that the risk of the market soaring “too fast, too high” is unlikely. One of the grounds for their argument stems from the fact that as homebuilding improves, supply should gain a better foothold, thus eliminating excess demand.

Just recently, real estate sales in Calgary topped the national average by 5.6 per cent. It is hoped that the industry's growth will be sustained in the next couple of months. This fact is surely thrilling a lot of home buyers who have been dreaming to settle in Calgary for good. Here are some tips you can follow to find a suitable property for sale.


First, you might want to save up for a sizeable down payment so you can pay a huge amount upfront and thereby reduce your monthly fees. Before obtaining any sort of financing, be sure to understand how mortgage works. Likewise, find a reliable mortgage lender that can offer reasonable rates.

Meanwhile, keep in mind that aside from the home’s market value, you’ll need to shoulder a bunch of additional charges that come along with the purchase. Be prepared to pay for services like property surveying, land registration, and local authority searches. It's also possible that the previous owner may have left some bills unpaid, which you’ll need to take care of as well.

Just like any other big-ticket purchase, you need to carefully inspect a house before buying it and moving in. If you have next to zero knowledge about this aspect, seek the help of your real estate agent.

Commercial real estate in Calgary is one of the largest in Canada, with about 65 million square feet of office space in the downtown and suburban areas, and about 127 million square feet of industrial space in the south east and north east. With such a large inventory, foreign and domestic investors are sure to find a commercial property in the city that best suits their interests and needs.

Aside from office buildings, retail centers like shopping malls are very popular because they can be rented on a long-term basis—provided tenants agree on a “triple net lease agreement” in their contract. This clause ensures that the investor's returns won't go down as taxes and operating expenditures increase. Meanwhile, resorts and hotels generally represent a huge gamble because while they generate large profits, they can be quite a handful to manage. Savvy investors are known to lease out hotels and resorts to companies who can run them in their stead.

Other investors also purchase plots of land for development, which is arguably the riskiest but most lucrative venture they can take. On one hand, land development brings with it a slew of construction and legal requirements, but on the other hand, investors can develop the property as they see fit. The city of Calgary may require investors to work with the Development and Building Approvals Business Unit before any land purchases can be finalized.

Economic shifts on the global and national scales can deeply affect the real estate industry. Such changes can greatly influence buyers and sellers’ decisions, particularly when it comes to regulations, pricing, and interest rates. Buyers who wish to score the best possible deals will need to monitor the real estate market more closely and watch out for developments as well as opportunities. Shopping for a house during the right period is sure to yield favorable prices and secure loans.

Following the news is a great way to determine whether or not to buy a house at any given time. Numerous online resources and analyses from real estate professionals can give buyers a good idea of what the prevailing market conditions, particularly whether it is favorable acquire real estate property on certain occasions. It may be helpful to consult multiple sources and not just one in order to get a more accurate picture of the market.

Of course, there are more obvious hints that the market is going strong. For instance, buyers will want to take note of lower interest rates, a decrease in distressed sales, and a drop in median home prices—phenomena that usually suggest an improvement in the market. In any case, buyers shouldn't rush real estate acquisitions and must rely on critical judgment as well as sound advice from seasoned experts.

Homebuyers have numerous options for real estate purchases in Calgary. However, before signing off on any contract, they will need to know beforehand what those options are, and why one option may be better than the other. Since buying a home is a huge investment that often includes months and months of saving for the down payment, homebuyers need to know how each cent will be spent.

However, a lot of homebuyers often can't find the time to view several homes for sale and consequently do a thorough assessment. As such, they often have to rely on the information provided by their real estate brokers. A downside to this approach is that real estate brokers may sometimes recommend properties which don't actually fit their requirements, thereby leading to wasted efforts on both sides.

Fortunately, homebuyers these days can get access to a multiple listing service or a database of properties for sale in the area maintained by an association of licensed realtors like the Calgary real estate board. A typical MLS® System sorts houses for sale according to size, style, price, and even location. This way, homebuyers can easily come up with a list of suitable properties they’d like to view. Once a property has been sold and taken off the market, the MLS® Systen is also updated accordingly.