Inexpensive Inner City?

[strombad]

This may be an oxymoron.

I was curious if there are any less expensive areas in the SW or NW close to downtown. I know inexpensive becomes relative at that point, but are there any affordable neighbourhoods nearby or any where a good deal can occasionally be found?

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Define inexpensive. Are you willing to renovate?

[strombad]

Willing to renovate, not looking for anything big, and inexpensive being in the eye of the beholder.

I'm not looking for a place under a specific range, but more so curious as to what neighbourhoods near downtown are the least expensive (compared to other inner city neighbourhoods) so we can start our search.

[shermanator]

Sunalta is probably a good spot. You can find 2 bedroom condos for 250k on occasion.

[tvp2003]

I'm sure the experts will chime in but:

- What's your definition of inner city? Walking distance to the core? or a 20 minute drive to the core?
- Looking for a single family home? or an apartment?
- As you said, inexpensive is all relative; I'm assuming you're looking for "bang for your buck". It's funny you mentioned NW and SW because that is likely more expensive than comparable properties in NE and SE.

North of the river, you can get some bigger lots in Renfrew, which may or may not be important to you. As you move further north, prices will probably tend to be cheaper than the same property once you cross Centre Street (i.e. NE vs NW).

Way too many variables involved though -- I think you have to narrow down your search to get any meaningful info...

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by strombad

Willing to renovate, not looking for anything big, and inexpensive being in the eye of the beholder.

I'm not looking for a place under a specific range, but more so curious as to what neighbourhoods near downtown are the least expensive (compared to other inner city neighbourhoods) so we can start our search.

Are you looking for a house or a condo? Somewhere like Montgomery is a lower priced option for a house, depending on how close to downtown you consider "inner city."

[bizaro86]

I actually think your best plan is to put what you want into mls.ca and see what neighbourhoods pop up. IE if you want a 2 bedroom condo search 2bed condos max 200k in an area around downtown. Then step up the search by 25k each time and see what areas pop up as you increase prices that interest you.

If you want a house/townhouse the same idea works.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

I've seen great deals on detached houses in very inner city Hillhurst for $450K (smaller but partially renoed, on busy street - $680K (fully done detached infill). Both did not last long as they were great deals for the area.

Biggest thing about Inner City house shopping is that it takes a lot of time and patience to wait for the right one to come up - and then you have to act immediately. It's not like the new build burbs where you just roll up and pick your lot and house in a few days.

My point is - any area has hidden gems, even the "expensive" ones. You just have to be patient in finding them.

[strombad]

Thanks for the tips, I might try what you said bizaro.

The only reason I'm not being overly specific is because we don't really KNOW right now what we're looking for. We're likely selling our condo in 6-12 months, and I wanted to start to get a picture of the available options.

Close to downtown would be a 20 minute cycle ideally. 5-15 minute drive, that sort of thing. Nothing apartment style IF we can avoid it (live in one now), and a safe enough area to raise a kid (not that it seems to be much of a problem in most areas of Calgary).

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Biggest thing about Inner City house shopping is that it takes a lot of time and patience to wait for the right one to come up - and then you have to act immediately. It's not like the new build burbs where you just roll up and pick your lot and house in a few days.

My point is - any area has hidden gems, even the "expensive" ones. You just have to be patient in finding them.

This is good advice. We started looking one summer (wanted to move closer to DT) and within a week or two purchased something in a good location and in our price range (the property had only been listed for 4-5 days and we were one of two buyers who put in an offer). In the weeks and months that followed, I would look for similar listings (thinking we may have acted too soon) but could never find anything comparable. I still look every now and then and rarely find anything in that price range that fits our needs. In hindsight, I think we were extremely lucky by finding that property and acting as quickly as we did.

Moral of the story -- know what you want and what you're willing to pay, because if/when that property does come along, you do have to act fast. Having said that, it will be a lot easier to find a 2 BR inner city condo as opposed to a detached inner city home, especially if price is a major constraint. I also agree with bizaro -- start plugging in searches on realtor.ca and see what kind of hits come up. You should be able to cross off certain amenities based on what you can afford; that will help you figure out what is important and you can set your budget accordingly.

[core_upt]

The less expensive areas in the SW tend to be Rosscarrock/Spruce Cliff, where you can find newer infills for under 600k (attached).
Killarney will occasionally have small detached infills that were built in the 90's for under 550k; sometimes you can find these in South Calgary/Marda Loop area too. These homes typically have a horrible layout and will look like they need a full reno.
In the north, Renfrew has less expensive property relative to it's location. You can find older homes on less than 50' lots for a decent price. Mayland Heights can offer great buys, but you are a bit farther out. Mix of R1 and R2 lots out there can swing prices. Montgomery is closer and cheaper than Bowness, but it's a total mix bag of what you get and what you're living next to.
Ramsey/Inglewood will on rare occasion have something on the cheap, though the location can be sketchy, but at least it's flat into downtown.

Hope this helps.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

I actually think your best plan is to put what you want into mls.ca and see what neighbourhoods pop up.

I wish there was a way to filter on MLS for "no mobile homes" as well as "no homes that require you to move them."

Also when looking for land, something for size between 0-10 acres. I have seen lots for a trailer that are 1000 square feet, which is several hundred times smaller than a few acres.

[nik-]

I've been looking lately for houses even remotely inner city since I'm hoping to upgrade in a year or so. There's no chance I can afford something comfortably and I'd rather die than spend 45 minutes in a car going to work every day.

Looks like I'm stuck in a condo forever unless I find a sugar mama

[troutman]

Do you mind living on a flood plain?

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I wish there was a way to filter on MLS for "no mobile homes" as well as "no homes that require you to move them."

Also when looking for land, something for size between 0-10 acres. I have seen lots for a trailer that are 1000 square feet, which is several hundred times smaller than a few acres.

If doing the search I mentioned above for a detached house, I would start at something like 100k to 350k. Having the lower limit filters out most of the mobile and to be moved homes.

I would love them to add a search by lot size for land. Both inside and outside the city.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by strombad

Close to downtown would be a 20 minute cycle ideally. 5-15 minute drive, that sort of thing. Nothing apartment style IF we can avoid it (live in one now), and a safe enough area to raise a kid (not that it seems to be much of a problem in most areas of Calgary).

You may want to give Bridgeland a try to see if it fits. My wife and I were looking for a house for months with similar criteria, but couldn't find anything we liked within our budget in the obvious inner-city places. For some reason we kind of ignored the Bridgeland/Renfrew area (maybe because i was almost always a south Calgary guy?). But in the end we expanded our area (and sadly, our budget), and found a really nice home that we should be moving into in a month if all goes well.

Location wise, it's hard to beat. There's a great park in the neighborhood, lots of restaurants/amenities on 1st ave, the LRT stop is a 5 minute walk, across Memorial you have the Bike Paths and Zoo, and the soon to be opened St Patricks Island. The East Village (with amenities like the new public library, NMC and who knows what else) will be close enough where you can take advantage. Plus it's on a hill, so there's no typical flood issues to worry about...instead you get great shots of the skyline.

Price wise, it's considerably cheaper than what one will find in Altadore, South Calgary, Hillhurst, and other more developed communities (that often can't match the access to ammenities of Bridgeland). It's not as polished or development-saturated as those neighborhoods, but I think because of that, I think there might be a little more room to grown in terms of your investment. There's plenty of new construction/infill action already, and I can see that continuing.

One other neighborhood that we also quite liked that was in the north was Mount Pleasant. Tons of infill action going on there, if that's your thing.

[Hack&Lube]

I also recommend Bridgeland. Lots of new developments going in and there are nice shopping streets. You can ride a bike to the C-Train in Winter or go over the C-Train bridge and along the bow river pathway and be downtown in 10 minutes on a bike.

[lorenavedon]

Bridgeland seems expensive when you compare it to Sunalta or Connaught. It's an awesome location but prices are too close to downtown pricing. Sunalta is pretty much the same price but IMO a far better location. Closer to the train, downtown, groceries, clubs / restaurants etc. I'm actually shocked that there are no new developments in Sunalta. Seems like an ideal location to tear down some old homes and put up a few condos

[Matt Reeeeead]

I bought a condo in Bridgeland 3 years ago for $195, sold this year for $235 (was in the Waterford) building which has had some good deals pop up. I walked to work in the beltline in 25 minutes... could have biked in 10 easy. Was 850 square feet to boot.

Some decent investments in Banff Trail right now... lots of older bungalows that aren't yet RC2 zoned so the builders aren't touching them yet, but can get a 50 foot lot, house in decent shape, 1100 square feet around 500k. But maybe not definition of cheap. Montgomery is still pretty affordable too, will probably grow fast in next 5 years.

[Travis Munroe]

Im iffy on the bowness/montgomery area. I have heard for years that its going to start "building" yet infills still struggle to sell!