Alberta Real Estate Show - Migration to AB, Calgary Water Main, Canadian Renters & Capital Gains Tax 

Hi Cole - I totally understand where you're coming from. I think prices for real estate across Canada are fairly correlated (at least in major/popular markets), so if there was something that would cause a drastic drop in other markets, Calgary would likely feel the same thing too. So if you're in the Canadian real estate market by owning in Calgary, you may experience rises the same rises and falls that could effect Canada (or the world) on a macro scale. It may be very hard to both capitalize on the gain in Calgary, and take advantage of a fall in a different market, at the same time. In my opinion, Calgary is experiencing such robust gains in prices now because of its strong draw of affordability (best among major Canadian cities), great prospects for jobs due to booming oil, and the negative perception of extremely overpriced markets like Toronto and Vancouver. I think the best way to solidify any gains you've seen in Calgary would be selling and moving to a different market segment (ie. from a detached home to a condo), or to an overall lower priced market (hot neighbourhood or town to less-hot). Many folks are doing the opposite right now, selling high in Toronto/Vancouver, and bringing those gains to a more affordable but still appealing market like Calgary, and taking money off the table. The risk in selling will always be that prices could continue to move higher; thats why regardless of where you are, owning is going to keep you in the overall market (and not paying rent to someone else). Thanks for the great comment! - Dan McGuire Canmore, Cochrane & Calgary REALTOR