CITY HITS RECORD FOR $1M HOMES
Assessments show more than 9,000 properties with seven-figure values
To get into a nice, single-family detached home on a reasonable-sized lot, you’re looking at $1.3 million and above
MIKE WOOD, LUXURY HOME REALTOR FOR REMAX CENTRAL
Call it a seven-figure vote of confidence in Calgary.
The city’s 2013 property assessments reveal a record number-of-single-family-homes valued at $1 million or more, besting the previous high set in 2008.
There are now 9,001 singlefamily homes assessed at $1 million or more, compared to 7,997 in 2012 — a 13-per-cent increase. The previous record of 8,262 homes was set during the previous boom, prior to the economic collapse in 2008.
“There’s a lot of optimism still in the economy,” said Mike Wood, a luxury home realtor for ReMax Central. “People are often putting down pretty significant down payments on these properties.”
The number of $1-million condominiums also jumped to 455 in 2013, up from 392 last year, but still trails the record of 682 set in 2008.
Seven-figure homes can now be found in every corner of the city.
Calgary’s highest assessed single-family home is the Pump Hill mansion belonging to entrepreneur Alfred Balm — a distinction it’s held for the past six years.
The city assesses the 15,747-square-foot mansion at a staggering $19,790,000. But before the end of the boom in 2008, the home was assessed even higher: $22 million.
Though the Pump Hillhome hasn’t regained its eye-popping high, it’s still well ahead of the seven-figure pack.
The second-highest assessed single-family home is in Aspen Woods, and is valued at $9,030,000. The third ,and fourth highest-valued spots went to two homes in Elbow Park at $8,690,000 and $8,060,000.
The fifth-highest assessment was for a house in Hounsfield Heights/Briar Hill at $7,870,000.
Demand for these milliondollar-plus properties is particularly brisk in Calgary’s inner city, Wood said.
Mind you, a million dollars won’t stretch as far as it used to. These days, Wood explained, it will likely get you a 2,800-square-foot, contemporary, attached home with high-quality finishings.
“To get into a nice, singlefamily detached home on a reasonable-sized lot, you’re looking at $1.3 million and above,” he said.
Breaching the $2-million mark is when one sees “unique” properties, with in- door hockey rinks and swimming pools, extravagant wine cellars and imported wares from around the globe.
“At that price point, you can put in whatever you want,” said Wood.
Richard Cho, senior market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said Calgary’s real estate market in 2012 transitioned from a buyer’s market to a balanced market. And with that comes a stronger growth in prices.
“There would have been some homes priced below $1 million before,” he said. “But with the growth in 2012, some of those homes may have increased in value above the million-dollar mark.”
Cho said residential home sales in Calgary increased overall, much of that buoyed by the strength of the city’s economy, growth in income and employment, as well as “impressive” immigration figures.
Combined, those factors have “been contributing to the higher demand for new homes as well as resale homes,” said Cho.