Residential activity may have eased in 2015 but what came on stream in the Calgary area was an assortment in location and product.
Northwest Calgary’s Symons Valley corridor, a well-established area near Fish Creek Park, Springbank and Airdrie all welcomed new master-planned communities this year. Symons Gate and Shawnee Park opened home sales in May and February, respectively, while Harmony in Springbank and Midtown in Airdrie came to market in late 2015.
“My opinion is, that (was) a slower year,” says Canadian Home Builders’ Association-Calgary Region president Wendy Jabusch. However, she adds “the fact those communities came on in such geographically diverse locations is a really good thing because it starts to give choice to buyers.”
Shawnee Park is a southwest community with land owned and homes built by Cardel Homes. Genstar Development Co. is managing the development. It’s adjacent to Fish Creek-Lacombe LRT Station and has about 20 per cent of the community plan slated as transit-oriented development. The community’s first show homes are expected to open in May 2016.
In an earlier interview Cardel Homes president Mike Selinger said the goal is “to build a complete character community within an urban forest environment.”
Brookfield Residential’s Symons Gate has a show home parade showcasing move-up options with two-car front-attached garages in its opening phase.
“We are very close to all of that commercial along Symons Valley Way,” said Brookfield’s Jessie Seymour in an earlier interview. “It’s great for us. We got to come in and take advantage of all of those area services.”
Symons Gate is now selling in the second instalment of its opening phase, which includes lots backing on to a scenic environmental reserve and additional west-facing lots.
Meanwhile, 708-hectare Harmony brought on more than 200 lots in its opening release along with 15 show homes in November. Bordeaux Developments and Qualico Communities are partners in its development.
The community will boast pathways, sports facilities and the deepest man-made lake in Alberta. It will also be the neighbour of the under-construction 18-hole Mickelson National Golf Course.
On Harmony’s first show home parade, Qualico communications manger Maribeth Janikowski said visitors “liked the fact that there were completely different housing styles out there, very different from what they’ve been seeing offered in Calgary in a lot of communities. And you can’t beat those mountain views and the proximity to Calgary.”
Airdrie’s Midtown marked the first community by Wenzel Developments, which is part of Shane Group of Companies. Wenzel teamed with Apex Land in developing the community where 200 lots are available in the opening phase and 600 are slated for build out.
“It’s very central to Airdrie,” said Brenden Montgomery, general manager of land development for Wenzel Developments in an earlier interview. “When we purchased the land, that was big for us. There’s pedestrian access under the tracks into an adjacent park and it’s walking distance to downtown Airdrie.”
Midtown’s proximity to shops and services include a grocery store directly north of the land, which Montgomery called “a five-minute walk, if that.”
Selection also expanded as communities brought new phases to market on all corners of the city. This included the northwest community of Evanston, which gave buyers a taste of what’s available by opening 22 show homes in late May.
“We need a selection of all housing types in all quadrants of the city so that we have inclusive communities for everyone, no matter where they want to live,” says Jabusch.
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Activity
Construction starts and resale numbers showed less movement overall with single-family homes in Calgary last year, but certain price points continued to perform well.
“There was a good demand for, in particular, the more affordable single-family homes. So that’s basically defined as anything under $500,000,” Jabusch says. “I think in general, that end of the market certainly had a reasonable year.”
On the resale market, the top selling price bracket between Jan. 1 and the end of November was $400,000 to $449,999, where 2,087 single-family homes changed hands, says the Calgary Real Estate Board. The next most active range was $450,000 to $499,999 with 1,690 sales.
Laned homes typically fall within the affordable range, helping fuel strong interest in the segment this year.
“They’ve been very popular,” said Scott Hamilton, director of marketing and communications for Hopewell, Mahogany’s developer in an earlier interview. “What we’re seeing this year, given the economic conditions, is people moving down more from perhaps having a larger, more expensive home, into this product, where it lessens the burden of the mortgage but has everything you need in terms of the bedrooms and space.”
Quick possession
One trend seen in Calgary’s 2015 housing market was an upswing in interest for spec homes. Many builders reported an upward shift in the ratio of spec versus pre-construction sales.
Homes by Avi sales manager Karl Bursnell, in a September interview, said it’s about buyers finding certainty. “They’re typically concerned about the price of the home they’re selling,” Bursnell said. “What they’re doing is they’re putting their house on the market and when they have the certainty — ‘My house is sold, I’ve got a sale happening, I know what it’s worth’ — that’s when they’re moving into a quick possession home.”
Mahogany is a three-time winner of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association-Calgary Region award for Community of the Year.
Demand
A lake community in southeast Calgary led the city in demand for single-family homes over the first 11 months of 2015. Mahogany by Hopewell Residential had 362 applications for building permits on single-family homes between Jan. 1 and the end of November, said the city’s planning and development department. The Evanston area was next with 303 applications, followed by 271 in Nolan Hill, 244 in Auburn Bay and Walden’s 230.
“Mahogany’s popularity really comes down to the unbeatable value of building in an exceptional community that offers an unmatched four-season lake living lifestyle, the city’s best builders, and homes to match almost any budget,” Hamilton says. “As Mahogany has established itself, we’ve seen more and more people fall in love as soon as they drive into the community, and its popularity has increased exponentially as a result.”
Construction and resale numbers
The Calgary census metropolitan area started construction on 3,826 single-family homes and had 5,034 completions between Jan. 1 and the end of November, says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. Southeast Calgary paced the city in both categories with 848 starts and 1,220 completions. On the resale side, there were 10,990 single-family homes sold and 18,527 new listings between Jan. 1 and the end of November, says the Calgary Real Estate Board. During this time northwest Calgary topped the city in activity with 3,705 transactions. However, Cranston in the city’s southeast, paced all communities with 256 deals.
The great room in the Maranello by Albi Homes in Artesia.
Brookfield acquired Albi Homes
The luxury builder with two national titles and more than 33 years building in Calgary was acquired by Brookfield Residential in October. Albi has built 3,300 homes since Tom Mauro founded the business in 1982. “What’s exciting about this acquisition is that despite the challenging economic times, it re-affirms Alberta is a place to do business. I’m very excited for what the future holds for us,” said Allan Klassen, president and managing partner at Albi Homes. Klassen will step into a new position as Brookfield’s senior vice-president of housing in January 2016, which sees him continue at the helm for Albi, while overseeing the rest of Brookfield’s housing work.
With Files by Claire Young