[bfc]

I hope this is the right place to ask... Everyone seems really knowledgeable here

I'm in the process of relocating to the Calgary and really having a hard time deciding on the areas I should be looking at. My requirements are a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo, preferable walk-up style, but hi-rise would be fine.

As for areas, I am interested interested in areas near the core, but more importantly areas that would have everything I need within 30 minutes walking distance (shopping, coffee shops, etc). So being near the core is not absolutely necessary. Also really interested in being near parks and bike trails also.

So.. To prioritize/summarize
1. Good neighborhood, with amenities located within walking distance
2. Close proximity to parks and bike trails
3. Near the downtown core

Price range: hardcap of $430,000

Any advice would be great.

Thanks in advance

[chenmau]

I live in Marda Loop and I really like it.
Heading south-west, you can access the Elbow river valley and the Glenmore resevoir area very quickly. There are plenty of walk-up condos in the area, and more to come. There's also a lot of transit routes heading into the core.

[Wooster]

Pretty much anywhere around downtown. Where are you coming from? For that price, you should easily be able to find what you are looking for.

The Beltline

Mission/ Cliff Bungalow

Bankview

Lower Scarboro

Hillhurst sunnyside

Bridgeland

Crescent Heights

Inglewood

Marda Loop

Basically drive or walk around the 3 km radius from Bankers Hall and see what neighbourhood you feel good about.

here is a really badly made map.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/joshwhit/map.jpg

[DizzyEdge]

Pretty much anywhere around downtown. Where are you coming from? For that price, you should easily be able to find what you are looking for.

The Beltline

Mission/ Cliff Bungalow

Bankview

Lower Scarboro

Hillhurst sunnyside

Bridgeland

Crescent Heights

Inglewood

Marda Loop

Basically drive or walk around the 3 km radius from Bankers Hall and see what neighbourhood you feel good about.

here is a really badly made map.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/joshwhit/map.jpg

Just wanted to clarify, "Lower Scarboro" is actually the community of Sunalta.
And Marda Loop is a business district that is on the border of the south side of the community of South Calgary, and the north side of the communities of Garrison Woods and Altadore, although I'm not certain that Garrison Woods is technically going to show up as a registered Community, on the MLS it's listed as part of Altadore. Also the west 1/2 of what's marked as Bankview is the community of Richmond/Knob Hill. Also the MLS still shows the Beltline as Connaught (west side) and Victoria Park (East side)

Yeah anal, but it will help if you're using the MLS :)

[Me&You]

Just wanted to clarify, "Lower Scarboro" is actually the community of Sunalta.
And Marda Loop is a business district that is on the border of the south side of the community of South Calgary, and the north side of the communities of Garrison Woods and Altadore, although I'm not certain that Garrison Woods is technically going to show up as a registered Community, on the MLS it's listed as part of Altadore. Also the west 1/2 of what's marked as Bankview is the community of Richmond/Knob Hill. Also the MLS still shows the Beltline as Connaught (west side) and Victoria Park (East side)

Yeah anal, but it will help if you're using the MLS :)

Except there's no Garrison Woods on MLS ;) Officially, Garrison Woods is in Altadore, no?

Josh's terms/names make it easy to keep up with the description of projects on here etc...

[bigcanuck]

Except there's no Garrison Woods on MLS ;)

Josh's terms/names make it easy to keep up with the description of projects on here etc...

However, most projects on here won't take possession for 18 months or more. I would say that MLS is the search tool of choice for a relocator.

All good communities mentioned. As suggested, take a drive around to see what neighbourhoods you like. A lot of them have a very unique look and feel that you may fall in love with (or hate).

[bfc]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts!

Relocating is definitely not fun, I have a one week trip coming up in two weeks in order to find and purchase something, finding that quite daunting... Right now I'm just trying to assimilate all the information being thrown at me and hopefully make the best informed decision I can.

Here's a loaded question, what you're thoughts on housing costs, I'm I better off renting for a year and then evaluating the market, and purchasing. Or are prices still going to keep climbing, making it even more expensive to enter the market a year from now..... Moving from London, Ontario, I'm finding that the cost of housing in Calgary is, well, high!!

Thanks again.

[DizzyEdge]

Just wanted to clarify, "Lower Scarboro" is actually the community of Sunalta.
And Marda Loop is a business district that is on the border of the south side of the community of South Calgary, and the north side of the communities of Garrison Woods and Altadore, although I'm not certain that Garrison Woods is technically going to show up as a registered Community, on the MLS it's listed as part of Altadore. Also the west 1/2 of what's marked as Bankview is the community of Richmond/Knob Hill. Also the MLS still shows the Beltline as Connaught (west side) and Victoria Park (East side)

Yeah anal, but it will help if you're using the MLS :)

Except there's no Garrison Woods on MLS ;) Officially, Garrison Woods is in Altadore, no?
Josh's terms/names make it easy to keep up with the description of projects on here etc...

Yeah that's what I said :P

[ScottFromCalgary]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts!

Relocating is definitely not fun, I have a one week trip coming up in two weeks in order to find and purchase something, finding that quite daunting... Right now I'm just trying to assimilate all the information being thrown at me and hopefully make the best informed decision I can.

Here's a loaded question, what you're thoughts on housing costs, I'm I better off renting for a year and then evaluating the market, and purchasing. Or are prices still going to keep climbing, making it even more expensive to enter the market a year from now..... Moving from London, Ontario, I'm finding that the cost of housing in Calgary is, well, high!!

Thanks again.

If we could give you solid advice on the direction of home prices in Calgary, then we'd be rollin' in dough. Seems that most people are predicting continued increases in housing and condo prices, but not like what we saw in 2006, which was crazy. If oil tanks and people stop moving here, then sure, housing will come down. But are you willing to rent for a year and risk 15-30% higher prices based on an outside chance that energy markets turn down?

[Rusty van Reddick]

"Marda Loop" can be any or all of South Calgary, Richmond (aka Richmond Park- NOT Richmond Hill, which is suburbia- or Richmond/Knob Hill) or Altadore. Altadore is south of ML, South Calgary is NNE, Richmond is NNW.

I'd put a pitch in for my neighbourhood of Bankview, but it's not all that convenient to groceries (though we hear rumours of one going in at 14 St/24th Ave); given your priorities, I'd suggest Mission, which has tons of condos and has both a Safeway and at least one very chic Italian grocery and has great pathways (not to mention several coffeehouses and many, many restaurants and pubs), and the west Beltline, with a Safeway and the upscale Co-op "Midtown Market" (think a nice Loblaws), the best coffeehouse in town (Bumpy's on 8 St by MEC), and all the restos and such on 17th and increasingly 11th Aves... you also have a very nice London Drugs (which is sort of Shoppers and Future Shop combined) and of course very, very easy access to downtown proper, on foot. Tons and tons of condos.

[freeweed]

Relocating is definitely not fun

Spend a little off-time out here before you move, if you can. After my first couple of months temporarily here, I fell in love with the city and surrounding areas. I spent the next year dying with anticipation about the move. Watching house prices rise on a daily basis made it all that more exciting to want to get here ASAP. :haha:

[RiverRat]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts!

Relocating is definitely not fun, I have a one week trip coming up in two weeks in order to find and purchase something, finding that quite daunting... Right now I'm just trying to assimilate all the information being thrown at me and hopefully make the best informed decision I can.

Here's a loaded question, what you're thoughts on housing costs, I'm I better off renting for a year and then evaluating the market, and purchasing. Or are prices still going to keep climbing, making it even more expensive to enter the market a year from now..... Moving from London, Ontario, I'm finding that the cost of housing in Calgary is, well, high!!

Thanks again.

I'm not a investor or a real estate pro, but it seems pretty obvious to me that the prices will be going up at least 5-10% in the next year. We used to have a glut of listings, but the market has returned to a more balanced level, that should grow at moderate rates. I can't see them going up more than 20% though.

Renting might be the best option for other reasons; if you want to get familiar with the city a new job, etc., but I wouldn't advise renting for the sole reason of waiting out the market to see if it drops.

You won't have a problem finding a place to buy at your price range meeting your criteria. One thing I would definately do is get a real estate agent right away to send you listings over email. Don't depend solely on the MLS website for your market info.

MLS.ca always tends to give an overpriced (or underpriced for last year) view of the market, as it only shows the asking price, and doesn't show what a property sold for. Perhaps more importantly, is that the best properties often never hit the website.