Real Estate Blog

With a lower tax base and small-town appeal, Airdrie remains a popular place for families to put down roots.   Airdrie is certain to grow in 2017 as the municipality continues to attract new home buyers that are looking for affordability and neighbourhoods that encourage an outdoor lifestyle.  The City of Airdrie is also a welcoming place for entrepreneurs looking to start a business.

Here are just four of the many great communities that fit this profile in this city just 15 minutes north of Calgary.

Bayside:  This neighbourhood in the south west corner of Airdrie is west of 8 St SW and south of Yankee Valley Blvd.  Nearly 2,500 people live in this community comprised of single-family homes and multi-family complexes.  Prices in Bayside start in the

Reasonable property tax is one of the reasons why Calgarians purchase a home in Airdrie.  In 2017, the City of Airdrie council has agreed to increase property taxes by just 0.63%.

That means if your property tax bill as a home owner in Airdrie is $2,300 a year, your tax will rise to $2,314.49.

The modest increase was not without some budget wrangling by Airdrie city council.  One of the moves in Airdre’s $130 operating budget for next year was to chop a quarter of a million dollars out of the snow and ice reserve fund.  That brought the tax increase down to .63% from the original 1.14%.  It was approved unanimously.

The Airdrie Echo reported that Candice Kolson, an Airdrie councillor, brought the motion forward to council and she said was pleased

It’s a decision that home owners toss around every day.  Should they sell their existing home and find a more suitable home in a better location?  Or, love the location and simply renovate to improve their home?   Both can be a hassle and both options can be exciting and if outside circumstances aren’t forcing you to pick between the two, how do you decide?

Here are some things to consider on your list of pros and cons.  Bear in mind there is no perfect answer, only a better answer.

What do you love and hate about your current home?

Pull out a notebook and make an honest to goodness list.  Pros on one side, cons on the other.  Once you’ve exhausted your list of good and bad, start examining it.   Your cons list will no doubt make you feel bad,

A 90-acre development in the City of Airdrie is an absolute urban oasis.  Midtown is a 90-acre project that combines the best parts of inner-city living with the lifestyle benefits of a suburban community.  Walkability, proximity to shopping and dining, open spaces, schools and transit access.  Midtown is urban life in a small-town atmosphere.  The ideal community for the family that doesn’t want to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the big city. 

Home Styles in Midtown

The area where Midtown is being developed is on the east side of 8 Street SW between the community of Luxstone Landing south of Iron Horse Park and Railway Gate.  This piece of land is surrounded on all four sides by other neighbourhoods.

This mixed-use community will feature

It happens to the best of us.  Paper stacks up on the kitchen counter or your dining room table becomes nothing put a place for newspapers, flyers and direct mail pieces.  Too often when you need to clean up for company or if you’re showing your home to potential buyers, important paperwork gets jammed into drawers or thrown into a box and then it’s gone forever.

Paper can get out of control.  You don’t have to be a certified hoarder to have piles of paper everywhere.  Part of the issue is organization, but why is organizing paper such a challenge?

Part of the reason according to professional home organizers is that decisions often have to be made with each piece of paper and that can be difficult.  A bill left in the open might be paid more

Autumn in Southern Alberta – that lovely time when you turn on your forced-air furnace for the first time since spring and an odd burning smell blows through your home.  Is it normal or does your gas furnace need a tune up?

It could be something simple like dust or a filter that needs replacing.  But it might possible be something in the electrical system.  Do you know for sure?  Read on….

Your Dad Says It’s Burning Dust

Perhaps you remember being a kid and smelling that interesting furnace smell in late fall when your parents finally gave in and turned on the heat.  It’s burning dust, you were told.  Dust collects on the heat exchanger in your furnace over the summer months and when the fan starts to blow that hot air the smell wafts through the

After an explosion in the number of people pouring into Airdrie over the last decade, population growth has significantly slowed down giving the municipality a chance to catch its breath.

The population growth was actually the lowest its been in the past five years in 2015 and 2016 numbers indicate that growth remains slow but hasn’t fallen short of last year’s numbers. Calgarians remains the number one source of new residents to Airdrie and continue to purchase homes in many of Airdrie's popular new communities. 

According to the City’s latest census, the population of Airdrie stands at 61,842, a rise of 5.37% over last year.  That may sound quite good, but in 2014 the City grew by 11%.  In the past two years, the number of new migrants has fallen

Can you have a luxury home without the million-dollar price tag?  Designers today are adding luxurious amenities in every room of the house, providing a modern touch and increasing value.  If you’re building a home or renovating an older one, consider every room and how you can add design features like these.

Make an entrance

Regal entry ways are the order of the day in a luxury home. Something that says you’ve “arrived”. Coat closets are gone, floors are polished, ceilings are high.  A grand entrance is in order in luxury homes no matter what the square footage.  Unfettered, clutter-free but welcoming.  This is where you want a gorgeous light fixture that creates impact. If there’s a staircase in the front entrance, make them open steps that create

Multi-family developments are affordable alternatives to single-family homes.  Easy to keep up, lower taxes and lower purchase prices overall make a town home or attached home an excellent purchase as a first-time home or first home out of an apartment.  However, a councillor in Airdrie thinks the city has too much of a good thing.

Allan Hunter is on the Municipal Planning Commission in Airdrie and according to the Airdrie Echo, he has voted against quite a few applications from multi-family home developers because of several concerns that he has.

Hunter commented that more consideration needs to be given to the impact these projects will have on the community at large before Airdrie council gives the green light.   While townhome development may

Airdrie residents will be thrilled to know that 24-hour Urgent Care is coming in 2017.  A city of 60,000-plus requires around-the-clock medical care and it’s on its way.

Sarah Hoffman is the provincial health minister and during her announcement this week in Airdrie, she said keeping the Urgent Care Centre open all the time will not only service residents in Airdrie, it will help reduce wait time at hospitals in Calgary.

Because of long patient wait times in Calgary, residents from the north end of the city will often travel north to Airdrie because of the smaller population, or at least, there’s a perception that wait times would be smaller.

Currently, the Urgent Care Centre in Airdrie at 604 Main Street  is open from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm.  It