Acreage Feature $1,995,000
Tips on acreage living and getting back to your roots
MLS®C4003356
DON’T MISS THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY
- Private and serene setting - Estate quality finishing throughout - Loft over garage - Space on the land to develop
A10 – A12
SEE FULL LISTING ON PAGE A3
FREE june 12 to june 18 2015 issue 05-22 editorial 403-781-1324 advertising 403-263-4940 crebnow@creb.ca
real estate news from industry experts
Calgary’s suite life Sept. 12, 2014
dec. 15, 2014
may 15, 2015
june 29, 2015
Standing policy committee votes no to streamline secondary suite approval
Council votes 8-7 against secondary suite reform
First reading passes on a secondary suite bylaw in Wards 7, 8, 9 and 11
Secondary suites are back in council
kelsey hipkin, Reporter/Photographer
The past, present and future of secondary suites in the city kelsey hipkin
reporter/photographer
C
algary is a city on the move. Energy sector uncertainty aside, cranes continue to dot the skyline and new communities continue to blossom along the outskirts. However, despite years of debate, a familiar topic seems poised to remain as a burr under the saddle of the “Heart of the New West” – secondary suites.
meetings, Coun. Druh Farrell likened the whole process to “giving birth to a chair.” To the west, Cochrane has blanket approval of suites on a first-come, firstserve basis to a maximum of 10 per cent of the lots in a neighbourhood. To the north, Edmonton approves suites with regularity, rarely seeing an issue in allowing them. “As far as the negative impacts in Edmonton, I haven’t seen really any to speak of,” Daryl Kreuzer, senior planner with the City of Edmonton, told CREB®Now last June. “If anything, I think the illegality of these suites, in the absence of legal methods to make them work, probably has a more negative effect on everyone concerned.” Between 2006 and 2011, Edmonton’s
Most recently, a council committee was tasked this week with determining whether to hold a plebiscite that would let the public decide whether suites should be allowed in neighbourhoods they’re currently not zoned for. With an estimated price tag of $2 million, reports suggested city staff was fully opposed to the option. For some, it feels the secondary suite debate has been milling about in Calgary since the RCMP first settled here in 1875. In one of the more memorable council
CITY OF CALGARY
MLS® BENCHMARK PRICE* MAY ‘13 – MAY ‘15
Cornerstones plan – designed to increase safe, affordable housing options for lower income households in the city – helped create and upgrade 552 secondary suites. More than 53 per cent of homes in Calgary are currently zoned RC1 or R1, prohibiting secondary suites. The City was on pace to approve 150 suites in 2014 compared to 178 created, and 62 in development, between 2009 and 2012, when Calgary had a secondary suite grant program. In comparison, Edmonton approved 1,396 suites between 2010 and 2013 under their Cornerstones program. Last September, a standing policy committee’s proposal to streamline secondary suite approval was voted
down 4-4 (as a tie in council means no). “There’s been some talk about not legalizing any aspects of secondary suites until we make them legal first,” said City general manager Rollin Stanley. “It’s important to remember our current policy is, in fact, driving suites underground. It is adding to our housing problem. It is not creating legal suites and it is not making suites safe.” Then, in December 2014, amid low vacancy rates, high absorption rates in the resale condo sectors and dwindling supply in the single-detached market, council again voted against suite reforms.
suites A3
contents Housing starts trending down in May
news briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3
five things. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
$454,100
$451,600
$454,300
$456,300
$459,100
$459,500
$459,900
$458,400
$457,300
$456,700
$456,100
$454,800
$449,800
$443,400
$437,600
$431,400
$426,300
$422,800
$421,500
$419,000
$415,100
$414,700
$411,700
$409,300
$407,000
MAY13 JUN13 JUL13 AUG13 SEP13 OCT13 NOV13 DEC13 JAN14 FEB14 MAR14 APR14 MAY14 JUN14 JUL14 AUG14 SEP14 OCT14 NOV14 DEC14 JAN15 FEB15 MAR15 APR15 MAY15
$403,500
Stadium Shopping Centre
*All statistics based on monthly data compiled by CREB® via MLS® activity. Includes detached, attached and apartment.
SPECTACULAR MOUNTAIN VIEWS
municipal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Crowchild Trail
weekly feed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6
CREB® STAFF
event listing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6
C
mortgage rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A8
algary builders are breaking ground on fewer homes these days, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s (CMHC) seasonal trending numbers. Calgary’s trending starts sat at 11,991 in May, down from 12,028 in April, reports CMHC.
construction A3
industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A9 CAAMP profile
map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1 open houses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B23 @crebnow
BILL BATEMAN 403.270.7300
/crebnow
crebnow.com
Real Estate Central
This MODERN 2,518 SQ. FT., 2 BDRM AIR CONDITIONED TOP FLOOR PENTHOUSE APARTMENT is the largest unit in the complex, offering spectacular mountain, valley & city views. GOURMET KITCHEN with GRANITE counters, TOP-OF-THE-LINE APPLIANCES and a walk-in pantry. The kitchen, dining, huge living and family areas all have beautiful views of the mountains. An open OAK SPIRAL STAIRCASE leads to the upper level LOFT & DEN overlooking the living areas. The MASTER BEDROOM and GUEST BEDROOM both have full ensuite baths and an abundance of closet storage space. The west-facing balcony has provision for a gas B-B-Q and lounge chairs. Large STORAGE area with more storage in the enclosed parking area. This PENTHOUSE also has underground parking stalls for TWO VEHICLES. EARLY POSSESSION POSSIBLE.
OPEN
Saturday & Sunday from 2 - 4:30, #1114, 10 Coachway Rd. SW
$698,500 MLS®C3646948