Real estate in Calgary - another bubble?

[you&me]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

I'm blown away by the recent asking prices at the high end of the market.

$5m and $6m homes just listed in the inner city - Mount Royal and Britannia.

Are these people crazy? This is Calgary. Not Toronto or Vancouver.

I keep an eye on the market and there are very few of these places moving... And if they do, it's almost never quickly. There's a new listing today in Mount Royal at $5.75, which seems impressive at first glance... until you realize that it was asking $750k more a year ago when it sat on the market for 6+ months... Lots and lots of recycled listings that simply don't move in the $4++ range.

The real 'heat' in the Calgary market is driven by people coming from ON and BC who are selling their townhouse in Milton or starter home in Chilliwack for $1.3 (or whatever) and moving here to get more space, shorter commutes and carry smaller (if any) mortgages... Those people are driving the ~$750-$1.3 market, which is pulling up the lower end of the Calgary market (~$500-750) and also pushing up prices as people sell their 'normal' house and upgrade into the ~$1.5-2mm range.

The higher end of the market is less affected, as typically, people with $3+ million homes in Toronto or Vancouver are typically professionals that more tied to the locale... They're also typically less affected by cost of living pressures, so they're able to enjoy the greater amenities in the larger cities. Simply put, no one's selling their $5mm semi in the Annex in Toronto to move to Mount Royal, so there's no outside market pressure to drive sales, so the local sellers at that level have to rely on organic upgrading from locals, which are few enough that there isn't a ton of demand... It's nice to see the sellers (and realtors) try though...

[you&me]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Crescent Road NW, $9.9 million...

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...lgary-rosedale

I'd sooner scoop my eyeballs out than see one more "Calgary Special" interpretation of 'modern design'... Who are these people and why are they unable or unwilling to hire a proper architect?

[moncton golden flames]

Originally Posted by you&me

I'd sooner scoop my eyeballs out than see one more "Calgary Special" interpretation of 'modern design'... Who are these people and why are they unable or unwilling to hire a proper architect?

Can you expand on your self proclaimed architectural expertise? What exactly do think a 'proper architect' would do differently?

[blankall]

Unless you're getting an incredible piece of land, I can't fathom pain paying $5+ million for a house in Calgary. You can get an incredible house for $2.5-3 million, and it's definitely an issue of diminishing returns.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by moncton golden flames

Can you expand on your self proclaimed architectural expertise? What exactly do think a 'proper architect' would do differently?

Sorry, I didn't mean any offense. Do you work at Dean Thomas or something?

But regarding the house in the link, I mean the ####ing chimney is on an angle for #### sakes. I think once you have that, no further comments are necessary and it's already game over.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by moncton golden flames

Can you expand on your self proclaimed architectural expertise? What exactly do think a 'proper architect' would do differently?

No expertise needed. That house is objectively horrendously tacky. It's like when a 20 year old bachelor ends up with too much money and self confidence in their ability to pick out finishings for a house.

Probably the same person that did this absolute hack job:

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...elandriverside

[tony-soprano]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

No expertise needed. That house is objectively horrendously tacky. It's like when a 20 year old bachelor ends up with too much money and self confidence in their ability to pick out finishings for a house.

Probably the same person that did this absolute hack job:

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...elandriverside

Lol, this ####house been on the market for a while.

Spoiler!

[you&me]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

No expertise needed. That house is objectively horrendously tacky. It's like when a 20 year old bachelor ends up with too much money and self confidence in their ability to pick out finishings for a house.

Probably the same person that did this absolute hack job:

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...elandriverside

Nailed it! hahaha

Different architects... I don't mind the form of the exterior of the Bridgeland house, but the interior is horrendous.

The $10mm place in Rosedale was done by these guys - https://deanthomas.ca/projects/914-rosedale/

They do some good work, but it seems like if they're allowed to run free, the random angles and protrusions seem to creep in to their designs. (And I realize in the link I provided, DT won some sort of award for the design... I don't know about the issuing body, but I've spent a lot of time in another one of their designs that won the same award and, um, it's, um, a house... I don't discuss home design preferences with the owner )

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

$5m and $6m homes just listed in the inner city - Mount Royal and Britannia.

To be fair, those two neighborhoods have some of the highest net worth families in Canada. Britannia especially also has high income families.

Even in 1952, when Britannia was established along the east bank of the Elbow River, lots here were sold for as much as twenty times the average Calgary price. The neighbourhood is still home to some of the most expensive residential properties in Calgary. The average annual household income here is $1,334,970.

https://globalnews.ca/news/9309379/r...rhoods-canada/


Though $5-$6M are probably long shots to see if there's anyone willing to massively over-pay.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by tony-soprano

Lol, this ####house been on the market for a while.

Spoiler!

[Rutuu]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

No expertise needed. That house is objectively horrendously tacky. It's like when a 20 year old bachelor ends up with too much money and self confidence in their ability to pick out finishings for a house.

Probably the same person that did this absolute hack job:

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...elandriverside

McDavid?

[Manhattanboy]

Ya I’ve seen that Mount Royal home listed a year or so ago. Nice house but not worth close to $6m and that value would push the larger MR estate homes above $10m which I just cannot see.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Crescent Road NW, $9.9 million...

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...lgary-rosedale

OK, can someone explain WTF is going on here?

Spoiler!

At first I thought maybe a Butlers kitchen, and that mirror in a kitchen would suuuuck. But the clothing in the background doesn't make sense, and the thing to the right is a door, not a fridge as first thought. In the mirror you can see a shower reflected, so this seems to be a bathroom/walk in/dressing area? With...a microwave? And...is that sink for ants? WTF is going on there? How would you...?



I guess what they say is true, the rich truly do live totally different lives from the rest of us. Baffling.

[GGG]

Looks like a bar.

Has a fridge in the far corner. Not sure why you wouldn’t put in a real sink though.

[Wormius]

Looks like just a filtered water dispenser. Don’t need a full size sink for getting a glass of water.

[Fuzz]

OK, that makes sense I guess. Any good reason to have a microwave in a bathroom? Late night pizza pops?

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

OK, that makes sense I guess. Any good reason to have a microwave in a bathroom? Late night pizza pops?

Maybe they like to warm up their clothes/underwear before getting dressed just like Kramer.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

OK, that makes sense I guess. Any good reason to have a microwave in a bathroom? Late night pizza pops?

That kind of looked like Shaw’s old place, so maybe?

That garage though is something. Ferris Bueller vibes. Only some poor plebeian has their butler take the cars out to the car wash.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

OK, that makes sense I guess. Any good reason to have a microwave in a bathroom? Late night pizza pops?

Towel warmer

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

No expertise needed. That house is objectively horrendously tacky. It's like when a 20 year old bachelor ends up with too much money and self confidence in their ability to pick out finishings for a house.

Probably the same person that did this absolute hack job:

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...elandriverside

That's the exact house I was thinking of as its cousin. Not surprised that it’s still for sale. Lots of investor cash sunk into these "showstopper" houses and I get a kick out of the massive misread of the Calgary buyer. There just aren't enough single tech bros billionaires here to build that stuff on spec and expect it to move.