Calgary real estate prospects

[JohnnyHockey13]

Kind of off topic, but there's a reddit thread about the housing market going crazy right, people literally in bidding wars...hope it keeps up until May-July when we plan to sell.

[zipdoa]

Ramsay is pretty dope, lived there off and on for a couple years. AWESOME Neighbors - for the most part, the people in the community are super solid.

HOWEVER - Ramsay is surrounded by crackheads roaming the alleys. Tons of transients coming in from east village digging through your shit. My car got broken into a couple times, skids are regularly pulling door handles and at least once a night I'd see the police hauling ass through the school zone on spiller road with the lights on. We had bikes stolen, people coming through the yard and leaving the gate open (letting my malamute roam the streets and then had to pay to get him out of the pound). There needs to be a solution for moving the transient/homeless/druggie population away before I'd actually buy real estate there.

Scottsman Hill has a great view and is a fun place to walk the dogs, but be prepared for traffic nightmares during stampede. Ramsay gets out of control busy with tourists.

I also wouldn't pay $750k for that house, but my priorities are different than yours. I'd buy a badass trailer before spending 3/4 of a mil on a house, any day.

Also, a lot of these heritage houses in Ramsay are fucking tiny. I'm 6'7 and the house I lived in was a nightmare. Those craftsman homes, even when renovated, are a way too small if you're above 6'2. The one I lived in had all sorts of problems, but nothing that a ton of money couldn't fix I guess!

Anyway - all in all, if you value community and solid neighbors, and the transient population + stampede madness don't turn you off, Ramsay might be a good inner-city choice.

[engibeer]

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Is this your first time buying? Lots to learn in the process so find all the friends you have and ask for advice they wish they knew the first time.

Re this property, looks comparable to others in the area for the price.
There's probably ones that may pop up for a lower price, which you can put your hands to work in to save a few bucks.

For the area, if you're going into downtown, not sure how much longer the bridge reconstructions are going to be, and they seem to be working on all the bridges in the area... so when one bridge opens back up, expect another one to close.
https://www.calgary.ca/transportatio...t-project.html
https://www.calgary.ca/transportatio...nglewoodramsay

This will be my first time buying in Alberta. I sold my home in St. John's before moving here. I'm definitely trying to get as much advice as possible given my ignorance of the neighborhoods.

Agreed, the bridge construction and incoming green line construction (if it ever happens) would likely be a pain to deal with.

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What are your thoughts on choo-choo trains? Crackheads?

If you want crackheads, sans trains... would lean towards something more like: A1053049 in that price range... or A1060580 if you want less crackheads, not much else I can endorse in that range that’s been “modernized” on the market right now. Keep an eye on the north side of 9th ave between, say 12th and 16th st se if you like the east side, night and day compared to the bottom of the hill in Ramsey

Trains aren't a huge deal breaker, crackheads are.

I've looked at beltline and ultimately think I'd prefer to avoid it if possible. I lived near the beltline Safeway for a year. That's sufficient for me. Mission wouldn't be too bad if I could find a house in decent shape that isn't 900k. We'll check out A1060580, thanks for that.

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That place is pretty appealing if you are into the old character type houses.

A good buddy of mine lived in Ramsay for a couple years, had lots of great things to say about the community. Given that it hasn't been gentrified yet, there's still quite a bit of transient/sketchy activity in some places though, so be ready for that.
@zipdoa probably has some words of wisdom.

Yeah, that's my thought process too (who knows, maybe the gentrification will still come).

We're not stuck on Ramsay. I'm fine with areas North of the Bow (Bridgeland, Sunnyside, Hillhurst, and Westmount), there just aren't many applicable listings at the moment.

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We have a few friends that are in Ramsay... They bought a while ago with the hope of imminent gentrification, but have since had kids and are getting tired of the, um, issues.

Personally, I'd prefer to be on the west side of MacLeod... More of a straight shot commute into the core, no trains, better all-around accessibility, far more vibrant and walkable area to be and with better prospects of appreciation... Without looking too hard, this place caught my eye

Edit - this one too.

I like the house in Ramsay, but you can't change the neighbourhood... The other places are in (IMO) better areas and at ~$100k cheaper, should leave a lot of room for renos...

Thanks for those. I actually visited the first one with a contractor friend last week. There are some hidden plumbing... er "issues" in that house that have evidently resulted in sewage backups. The bath tub in the middle of the back yard should have been a red flag. I'll check out the other and see how much work is required.

[msommers]

I wish there was interest in condos again. We'd love more space.

[dirtsniffer]

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Kind of off topic, but there's a reddit thread about the housing market going crazy right, people literally in bidding wars...hope it keeps up until May-July when we plan to sell.

buddy of mine just listed in deer run, conditional offer near ask in a couple days.. his realtor was saying supply is really tight right now.

That said, a few houses near me for sale >$650k seem to be taking their sweet fucking time so ymmv

[Rocket1k78]

bro sold his place in hamptons 2 weeks ago in 2 days and for over asking. Bought it for 220k in 2020

[bjstare]

As mentioned earlier, I think the "hot" market is <600k. The higher you go, the longer they seem to be sitting.

[jwslam]

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As mentioned earlier, I think the "hot" market is <600k. The higher you go, the longer they seem to be sitting.

400-600 is always hot

It's the move ups for people in condos / townhouses
It's the move down for people who can no longer afford their $1mm

[Strider]

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I wish there was interest in condos again. We'd love more space.

So would everybody else who's working from home, hence the demand for SFH and lack of interest in condos.

[blueToy]

Market is really weird right now. Desperate selling AND buying.
OP, unless you need to buy, I'd just pack away more down payment and keep watching. When things get nicer outside, you and your girlfriend can go cycling around where you work and look around. Take a long time and go exploring.

[ercchry]

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Trains aren't a huge deal breaker, crackheads are.

I've looked at beltline and ultimately think I'd prefer to avoid it if possible. I lived near the beltline Safeway for a year. That's sufficient for me. Mission wouldn't be too bad if I could find a house in decent shape that isn't 900k. We'll check out A1060580, thanks for that.

I’ve been back and forth from the burbs to inglewood a few times, trains aren’t too bad as long as you aren’t right beside the tracks... till they are. Notably late night load testing (not supposed to anymore... but they do) and even worse is random horn testing? Just hours and hours of someone laying on the train horn... don’t get it, incites murderous rage though

North of 9th ave, and that 12th to ~16th st se area though... love it, was hands down my favourite inner city area, never once a crackhead issue. Hell, I even left my keys dangling in the front door an embarrassingly large number of times without issues. Had a motor bike parked out from too, and M3 without a single issue. Way more than I can say for bankview, Ramsey, or bridgeland areas

[engibeer]

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Also, a lot of these heritage houses in Ramsay are fucking tiny. I'm 6'7 and the house I lived in was a nightmare. Those craftsman homes, even when renovated, are a way too small if you're above 6'2. The one I lived in had all sorts of problems, but nothing that a ton of money couldn't fix I guess!

Just got to experience this first hand. We visited the one I posted yesterday and I cracked my head on the ceiling twice, once in the basement and once on the 2nd floor.

Owners did a great job renovating it but I felt way too claustrophobic, even at 6'1. Hard pass.

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North of 9th ave, and that 12th to ~16th st se area though... love it

That's pretty key info. There's SFA listed in that area right now but I'll keep an eye out.

[tcon]

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bro sold his place in hamptons 2 weeks ago in 2 days and for over asking. Bought it for 220k in 2020

ok, but what did it sell for?

Hopefully the market cools down when the weather gets nicer and people all try to sell their houses thinking they'll make some $$, I'm about ready to start looking lol

[Rocket1k78]

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ok, but what did it sell for?

Hopefully the market cools down when the weather gets nicer and people all try to sell their houses thinking they'll make some $$, I'm about ready to start looking lol

Shit my bad i meant 2002, it sold for 690k.

[gwill]

why would anyone wait till spring to sell if it's a sellers market right now... Get it listed. See how things go.

[vengie]

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why would anyone wait till spring to sell if it's a sellers market right now... Get it listed. See how things go.

Because like.... you would then need to buy in this market.

[Disoblige]

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Shit my bad i meant 2002, it sold for 690k.

[RX_EVOLV]

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Personally, I'd prefer to be on the west side of MacLeod... More of a straight shot commute into the core, no trains, better all-around accessibility, far more vibrant and walkable area to be and with better prospects of appreciation... Without looking too hard, this place caught my eye

Edit - this one too.

I had a century home (1912) home for a few years in Mount Pleasant. Although I really enjoyed that house, here are a few comments on buying one. Briefly looking at the 2 listings you posted, most of the comments are applicable.

1) Most will not have a washroom on the main floor. A bit inconvenient when you have guests over and they always have to go upstairs to use your personal bathroom. (both those houses you listed only have 1 bathroom, so they don't have even have one in the basement). The bathroom size is also usually really small. With my old, I was able to reach the door, turn on the shower, and turn on the sink while sitting on the toilet. That's how small it was. It physically couldn't accommodate 2 adults in there.

2) Unless renovated, the bedrooms usually won't have any closet/storage space. When you look at the size of the rooms you'll need to keep that in mind for functionality.

3) the basement usually have really low ceiling, rendering them a bit useless except for a spare bedroom or storage

4) The stairs are usually quite narrow, especially once you install railings

5) Just alot of potential older home issues. In the winter when it's -30C out (like now), our kitchen would have no running water because the pipes are too closed to the wall and not enough insulations. We would have to wait for the pipes to thaw which could take over a week. Most door frames were out of alignment. We had a mice issue at one point and it took a long time to find plug up all the holes around the exterior of the house due to alot of renos done over the years (e..g windows getting blocked off, etc..).

Overall for the price we were still happy with the purchase and had no regret buying it. It allowed us to get a detached, inner city home for less than a newer 4plex price, and we sold it 4 years later with a decent profit. However as soon as we started planning for the future family, we knew the house wasn't kid-friendly at all and got out of there quickly.

[gwill]

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Because like.... you would then need to buy in this market.

Your missing the poing that A few people have already said their listing in spring so why not list now? Your closing can take 60 days then factor in that it may take a couple weeks or more to get an offer and you can be 3 months out. You can also port your mortgage up to 4 months after your close if you wanted to wait the market out before moving into a new place. That can put you as far out as fall if your concerned about buying and selling at a peak.

If you have to list 60 days from now the market isn't going to have changed that much other then you'll have way more competition to sell against.

[msommers]

Bros....buy low sell high duh