Notes from the field
Writing on Calgary real estate. How the market actually works, what buyers and sellers run into, and how David thinks about the calls his clients face.
All posts
Buying a Calgary Home With a Tenant in It: The Rules, and What Last Year's Sales Show
Buying, 10 min read
If the Calgary home you want has a tenant in it, the lease decides when you can have it to yourself, and before closing only the seller can give the tenant notice. Here's how the timing works, what to check before you firm up, and how far under asking tenanted houses sold over the last year.
Nov 2, 2026
Buying a Home in Calgary This Winter: What the Last Two Winters Actually Did
Buying, 10 min read
Everything online says winter is when Calgary buyers get the deals: less competition, motivated sellers, lower prices. I checked all three against the last two winters of sales and listings. Homes sold more slowly and more of the new listings were already vacant, but there were far fewer to choose from. Lower prices held across one winter of the two. In both, December and January came in under the spring that followed, and February did not.
Oct 27, 2026
Selling a Tenanted Property in Calgary: The Rules, and What Last Year's Listings Did
Selling, 10 min read
If your Calgary rental has a tenant in it and you want to sell, two things decide how it goes: what Alberta's tenancy law lets you do, and how tenanted homes have actually sold. Over the last year the tenanted ones that sold did about as well as vacant homes. Far more of the tenanted listings expired.
Oct 19, 2026
Selling an Inherited House in Calgary as Executor? Call the Insurer First
Selling, 10 min read
Most of what an executor reads is about probate, and that part belongs to the lawyer. This is about the house: who can sign for it, what Land Titles needs before a sale can close, the three different values you will be asked for, what an empty house needs through a Calgary winter, and whether vacant homes sold further under asking over the last year.
Oct 13, 2026
In Calgary, "HOA Fee" Means Three Different Charges. Here's How to Check a Home Before You Buy
Buying, 11 min read
In Calgary, "HOA fee" gets used for three different things: a fee an association has registered on the home's title, a City special tax on the property tax bill, and a community association membership nobody has to buy. Here is how each one works, what twelve communities pay in special tax for 2026, and how to check a specific home before you write an offer.
Oct 5, 2026
How to Check Which School a Calgary Home Is Designated To (Before You Buy)
Buying, 9 min read
A listing that says "steps from the school" is telling you about distance, not designation. In Calgary the school that serves a home is set by its address, its board and its grade, and the school down the street is often not the one. Here is how to check an address yourself, and the things that catch buyers out.
Sep 28, 2026
How Much Under Asking Should You Offer in Calgary? Start With How Long It's Been Listed
Buying, 9 min read
The rules of thumb say offer 5 per cent under. The 20,962 Calgary homes that sold in the past year say it depends on how long the home has been listed. The gap opens quickly in the first month and more slowly after that. Here is what that looks like by property type, and what it means when you write an offer.
Sep 21, 2026
Calgary Repealed Blanket Rezoning. Here Is What the Permits Actually Show in the Southwest.
Market, 10 min read
For two years the argument about blanket rezoning was about what it would do to your street. The repeal took effect on August 4, so now there is a record to check. I went through the City's permit records for Calgary's established southwest communities back to 2020. Applications for new rowhouse and townhouse projects did triple under blanket rezoning, from 95 to 280. They had also tripled in the two years before it, building permits for new single-detached houses barely moved, and the repeal does not cancel the projects that qualified for an exemption.
Sep 14, 2026
Selling a House in Calgary This Fall: What Last Year's Listings Actually Did
Selling, 10 min read
Everyone has an opinion about listing in the fall. I went and looked at what happened to the 13,963 Calgary homes that listed between August and December last year, month by month. The fall itself barely moved the odds. The year did, the relists did, and December did. Here is the honest read, plus the four things about a Calgary fall listing that actually run on the calendar.
Sep 7, 2026
Rent vs Buy in Calgary: It's the Condo Fee That Decides It
Buying, 10 min read
Renting a two-bedroom Calgary apartment costs $1,997 a month. Owning the median one costs about $2,196. That gap of roughly $200 is the smallest it has been in years, because rents fell and condo prices fell harder. But move only the condo fee from the low quarter of the market to the high quarter, holding the purchase price identical, and the monthly cost swings $236. The fee is bigger than the decision.
Aug 31, 2026
Does a Legal Secondary Suite Actually Add Value in Calgary?
Selling, 10 min read
Every page that answers this question is written by someone with a stake in the answer, and the number they quote is $50,000 to $100,000. Calgary MLS sales for the year to August 24, 2026 say something else. Homes with a legal suite did sell for about 30 per cent more, but they were also a third larger and eighteen years newer. Compare like with like and the difference is real but wildly inconsistent, anywhere from 1.5 to 15.7 per cent.
Aug 24, 2026
New Build vs Resale in Calgary: The Question the Sales Centre Cannot Answer
Buying, 9 min read
Detached homes built between 2016 and 2022 took 36 days to sell in Calgary communities where the builder is still delivering new product, against 21 days in communities that have finished building. Same age of home, same kind of suburb, 15 extra days. Here is what that means if you are standing in a show home deciding between new and resale.
Aug 17, 2026
Your Calgary Home Didn't Sell. Here's What the Numbers Actually Say.
Selling, 10 min read
Calgary apartment listings expired 33.9 per cent of the time this past year, against 18.3 per cent for detached homes. That is roughly a 16 percentage point spread between the top and the bottom of the property-type breakdown, a gap that a single citywide number cannot show. If your listing came off the market without selling, here is what the data honestly says, by property type, and what to do next.
Aug 11, 2026
Your Calgary Mortgage Renewal Is Not a Reason to Sell (Usually)
Market, 10 min read
The renewal math going around Calgary runs on 5.5%. Real five-year fixed offers in Alberta are more than a full point below that, and on a typical 2021 Calgary mortgage the difference is roughly $230 a month. Here is the honest version, and the short list of cases where a renewal genuinely is a reason to move.
Aug 3, 2026
Downsizing in SW Calgary: Four Different Moves, Four Different Markets
Selling, 10 min read
Most downsizing advice treats it as one decision. It is really four, and the 2026 Calgary market treats each of them completely differently. Here is what the sold data says each move actually frees up, and why the one most people want is the one where you have the least leverage.
Jul 29, 2026
How much does it cost to buy a home in Calgary? (Down payment, closing costs, and cash to close)
Buying, 11 min read
The down payment is only part of the number. Here is every dollar a Calgary buyer actually needs, worked through on a real $425,000 row home example to one cash-to-close figure: just under $25,900.
Jul 20, 2026
Should You Buy a Calgary Condo Right Now?
Buying, 22 min read
Calgary's apartment benchmark is down 8.3% year over year and buyers finally have leverage. But the discount is not the same thing as a bottom, and the supply wave that caused it has not finished landing. Here is the honest read: who should buy, who should not, and why the building matters more than the unit.
Jul 13, 2026
Buying a Family Home in SW Calgary Before the School Year Starts
Buying, 10 min read
Calgary kids go back to class on August 31 this year, earlier than most families expect. If you want to be settled in your new SW home and school catchment by then, here is the timing math, how catchments actually work, and which SW communities fit which family and budget.
Jul 6, 2026
When Is the Best Time to Sell a House in Calgary?
Selling, 9 min read
Everyone tells you to wait for spring. The truth is messier. In Calgary's 2026 market, the calendar is the smallest lever you control, and the seasonal premium is real but easily wiped out by mispricing or by waiting for a perfect month that never quite comes. Here is when Calgary actually sells, what changed this year, and how to beat the season whatever month you list in.
Jun 29, 2026
Which Calgary Renovations Actually Pay Off Before You Sell
Selling, 10 min read
Before you list, the question is not which renovation pays for itself, because almost none of them fully do. It is where to spend so your home shows well and gives buyers nothing to mark you down on. Here is what actually pays back in Calgary, what to leave alone, and the one mistake that costs sellers the most.
Jun 22, 2026
Your 2026 Calgary Property Tax Bill Jumped: What Your Assessment Actually Means
Selling, 9 min read
The 2026 tax bills landed in May and a lot of Calgarians opened them to a number bigger than they expected. Here is what your assessment actually measures, why your bill rose more than the City's tax increase, and why the assessed value is not what your home is worth.
Jun 15, 2026
Calgary's Two-Speed Market: Why Detached Is Holding While Condos Soften in 2026
Market, 9 min read
Ask whether it is a good time to buy or sell in Calgary right now and the honest answer is: which market are you in? Detached homes are still balanced and holding value, while condos have shifted firmly to the buyer. Here is what the May 2026 numbers actually mean for your move.
Jun 8, 2026
Don't Get Burned: A Calgary Buyer's Guide to Reading Condo Documents
Buying, 11 min read
The condo unit can be perfect and the building can still cost you. The real story lives in the documents: the reserve fund study, the estoppel certificate, the minutes. Here is what I read first, what the red flags look like, and what changed under Alberta's new condo law in 2026.
Jun 1, 2026
How much does it cost to sell a home in Calgary? (And what you'll actually net)
Selling, 10 min read
The cheque at closing is meaningfully smaller than your sale price. Here is every cost a Calgary seller pays in 2026, commission, GST, mortgage payout, legal, RPR, prep, property tax adjustment, worked through on a real $750K SW Calgary example.
May 25, 2026
Calgary property assessment vs market value: why the numbers don't match
Selling, 9 min read
Your City of Calgary assessment was built to calculate your property tax, not to tell you what a buyer will pay. Here are the gaps the assessment cannot see, with real numbers from recent Calgary sales.
May 18, 2026
Moving to Calgary from Toronto: An Honest Guide for Families
Buying, 12 min read
Trading a Toronto condo for a Calgary detached makes the math work, but the lifestyle, schools, weather, and logistics are where most families get tripped up. Here is the honest version, from a Calgary REALTOR® who has helped a lot of families make this move.
May 11, 2026
Real Property Reports in Alberta: A Complete Guide for Buyers and Sellers
Selling, 12 min read
An RPR is the document most likely to surprise you at offer time in Alberta. Here is what it actually shows, what compliance means, when title insurance can stand in, and the red flags both buyers and sellers should know.
May 5, 2026
Why your Calgary home valuation tools all give different numbers
Selling, 8 min read
Your City of Calgary assessment, your HonestDoor estimate, and your HouseSigma number probably do not agree. Here is what each one is actually measuring, where they go wrong, and what your home is really worth.
Apr 28, 2026
Moving to Calgary? Which Quadrant Is Right for Your Family
Buying, 7 min read
Calgary's four quadrants each have a distinct personality, price range, and lifestyle profile. Here's how to figure out which one actually fits your family before you start browsing listings.
Apr 22, 2026
Southwest Calgary Neighbourhoods: Finding Your Family's Fit
Buying, 8 min read
The SW has more range than most buyers realize. From inner-city walkable communities to sprawling western suburbs, here's how to navigate it from someone who lives and works here.
Apr 22, 2026
Should you sell before you buy, or buy before you sell?
Selling, 6 min read
The honest answer for Calgary move-up families: both paths carry real risk, and the right one depends on your finances and your neighbourhood.
Apr 18, 2026