Keep your distance!
Does the search for space POST-COVID create a Calgary advantage?
Weeks into the pandemic, heads turned when new neighbours in my downtown highrise moved right back out, boxes packed and queen-sized mattresses following them out the door. Lockdown in a small Vancouver condo — with no patio— wasn’t happening.
They were escaping to their house in the country.
“We’re seeing the trend — tonnes of activity away from downtown,” says realtor Matt Scalena, who co-hosts the Vancouver Real Estate Podcast. “People are looking for a lot of green space and a front door. They don’t want to ride an elevator.”
“Whether this is just a knee- jerk response to COVID, or a fundamental shift in how people want to live, it’s too soon to tell.”
Downtowns everywhere — at least during lockdowns — are emptying out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Vancouver, Toronto and New York City.
Many are “downsizing” to Calgary, relocating from both east and west of the Prairies.
These housing trends don’ t surprise Sheenah Rogers- Pfeiffer, CEO of Anstice Communications. Her firm specializes in understanding consumer sentiments and is familiar with the real estate markets of Calgary and Vancouver, where it operates.
“Calgary is strategically positioned to have a strong advantage in a post- COVID world,” she says. “People want space and Calgary certainly has that, both in its downtown and inner- city neighbourhoods, as well as in new communities.”
Developers need to rethink their approach to community design and leverage the city’s natural environment, along with the other learnings from 2020, says Rogers-pfeiffer.
Her message to city planners is to strategize on providing more and improved access to green space, and more space that allows for social distancing.
More than two-thirds of 800 Canadians surveyed by Anstice said they wanted planners to recognize they no longer wished to be so close to others in parks and along pathways.
Anstice’s ongoing research also indicates people want slower, simpler lives. While the case may be made for the suburbs, Rogers-pfeiffer says it’s not the typical vehicle-oriented suburb of the past that people are looking for.
“There’s been a rethinking of values,” says Rogers-Pfeiffer, who counts homebuilders and developers among her roster of clients. “Buyers and renters want communities that allow for real connections — with neighbours, family, friends and nature.”
Iain Stewart, president and CEO of Genesis Land Development Corp. (TSX: GDC), confirms COVID has changed how people live and what they want from their homes and community. What’s emerged is the need for a second office, lots of natural light and access to outdoor space, says Stewart, who has been in the land development and real-estate business for more than 30 years.
With a long history in the city, Calgary-based Genesis used its deep understanding of its customers to pivot immediately, at all levels of its business, and offer a variety of solutions to buyers at every stage of the homebuilding and homeownership journey.
“It doesn’t matter if you live in a downtown condo or on an acreage, what we saw instantly was that we had to address the new reality, such as what was happening around the kitchen table,” he says. “Kids are doing homeschooling there. While there might be a home office, at least one spouse is working at the dining- room table. And the family still has to eat,” says Stewart.
Immediate fixes included adding movable walls equipped with technology such as LED lighting for Zoom calls and high-speed internet. They remarketed flex rooms to “second home offices,” added windows for extra lighting and incorporated extra wireless charging stations and ports, says Stewart.
Over the long term, existing neighbourhoods will be retrofitted with things like community gardens and rooftop oases, says Rogers-Pfeiffer, while new communities will reflect the next generation’s aspirational smaller carbon footprint, but with super high- tech houses.
“Our clients are planning communities today that will be built out over the next 30 years, that people can’t imagine or know they want and need, until they see it. It’s no longer about the house, but about the interaction between homes, nature and healthy, balanced living.”
As for the Covid-calgary advantage?
“Calgary is blessed with geographical space, mountain views and a tremendous amount of sunshine,” says Rogers- Pfeiffer. “It also maintains some 1,000 kilometres of regional pathways and trails. These are all things people are saying they want and need post-pandemic,” she says. “And it’s affordable. So yes, Calgary’s advantage is very real.”