People won’t stop moving to Calgary: How will it affect housing in 2023?
Posted Jan 4, 2023 11:25 am.
Last Updated Jan 4, 2023 11:27 am.
Ontarians and British Columbians are flocking to Calgary and other parts of Alberta in record numbers, a trend that will continue in 2023 according to one real estate expert.
“I think that old adage ‘go west young man’ is really starting to take hold and people are seeing the value within Calgary,” Chris Audette realtor with The Group at RE/MAX First told CityNews.
“We are expecting a large migration of people still to come in, whether it be from in the province, or outside of the province in these other areas.”
Alberta is seeing its highest influx of migrants in 40 years, with nearly 60,000 people moving to the province between July and October of last year. Within Canada, a high number of people are are moving to Alberta from Ontario and B.C.
When it comes to Alberta’s two major cities, Calgary continues to top Edmonton on lists of best places to live.
Calgary ranked third on The Economists list of most livable cities in the world last summer, tied with Zurich, Switzerland, rising from the 18th spot on the well-respected and researched list.
“It’s the quality of life, being in close proximity to the mountains, the cost of living, I spent six years in Toronto and I came back here and I’ve convinced a lot of my friends to move here which they are for that very reason,” one Calgarian said.
Another Calgarian told CityNews they like living here because it’s more affordable than cities like Toronto and Vancouver.
Audette says because of the high number of people moving to Calgary, the city is beginning to “burst at the seams.”
“As it sits right now, we just don’t have enough housing for the people that are here. That is going to keep our housing prices high, we’re going to be seeing some moderate price increases over the next year and I wouldn’t doubt in the years to come, we continue to see that,” Audette explained.
As debate about urban sprawl continues at City Hall, Audette says building taller buildings with more units in Calgary’s suburban communities is the answer, instead of expanding the city further.
