Calgary real estate: Where to buy in the core and inner suburbs 2018

View neighbourhood rankings by region:

1. Kingsland (SW)

The No. 1 neighbourhood this year offers buyers great value. Why? Because average home prices in Kingsland are about $90,000 to $100,000 cheaper than the average home price for all of Calgary. What can buyers expect? Homes near the average are typically bungalows or raised bungalows with great bones and the option to renovate and create open-concept space.

For families and commuters, the neighbourhood is a great option. It’s centrally located — just a 15-minute drive to downtown — and offers relatively easy access to two light-rail transit stations.

2. Bowness (NW)

The No. 2 spot this year was snapped up by Bowness, a northwest community that gives car commuters easy access to Highway 1 (which turns into 16th Ave) and Sarcee Trail. What helped push this community up in the rank this year was its steady growth. Over the last half decade, prices in this neighbourhood have appreciated 32%, yet homes are still about $100,000 less than the average cost of a home in Greater Calgary and $75,000 less than the average price of a home in this Northwest quadrant. In a city, where residents really understand the value of a dollar these savings are significant.

GALLERY: Top 25 Calgary neighbourhoods to buy in

Better still is the ‘hood love. Over and over again this neighbourhood ranks high on various local community-engagement lists and this is only supported by the number of “I Heart Bowness” bumper stickers seen on the roads and highways around the city. A big source of price for this community is Bowness Park, which offers everything from hiking to biking to firepits and BBQs, wading pools, a lagoon and great paddling.

3. Greenview (NW)

The No. 3 spot on the inner suburban neighbourhood list is Greenview. The neighbourhood ranked high this year because of how much value it offers. Average house prices were just below $425,000 in 2017 — 73% of the average price in the northwest area.

As a northeast neighbourhood, Greenview was first developed as a commercial and light industrial district, but as the City of Calgary grew residential homes and apartments started to crop up along its western edge. As a result, this neighbourhood has been slower to develop its community sense. Still, with homes significantly cheaper in this community, buyers have started to take notice. Property values in the community increased 10% last year — pretty great considering the five-year price growth for the neighbourhood is 17%.

4. Highwood (NW)

Nestled in the northwest quadrant of Calgary is the community of Highwood, our No. 4 neighbourhood in the Calgary core and inner communities list. Most of the homes in this neighbourhood were built in the 1950s, during the post-World War II boom but over the years many have been renovated and some even torn down to make room for new-builds and well as townhomes and condos.

Buyers can expect to pay a bit less for a single-family home in this area. In 2017, average home prices were just below $568,000. While this price is on par for homes in the northwest quadrant, it’s about 10% less than the average house price of homes in Calgary’s core (and 7% less than the average price of all homes in Calgary). Even better is that property values keep going up for this neighbourhood — 18% in 2017 and 40% over the last five years.

5. Highland Park (NW)

Highland Park is located in Calgary’s northwest quadrant. The neighbourhood got its name from the area’s high elevation which offers spectacular mountain views. What’s great about this neighbourhood is that buyers can choose from a wide range of housing types from traditional two-storey family homes, to split levels, to bungalows and duplexes (also known as semi-detached homes, in central Canada). Home size can also vary quite a bit, from small post-war bungalows to sprawling new build or remodelled homes.

What’s great about Highland Park is that offers commuters direct access to Calgary’s downtown core, via Center Street. Plus it has great access to regional bike paths and residents can enjoy outdoor space in Confederation Park or Nose Hill Park.

The average price of homes in this area is roughly $100,000 less than the average price of homes in Calgary’s core. Already that sounds like great value but what’s better is that property values in this neighbourhood have weathered the recent economic storm quite well. In 2017, prices appreciated by 4% and over the last half-a-decade property values grew by 40%.

Top 25 neighbourhoods

ClickTap column headings to re-rank neighbourhoods. ClickTap on any neighbourhood name to learn more about it. Search by neighbourhood or area to filter results.

Rank	Neighbourhood	Area	Average home price (2017)	Value	Momentum	Realtor Grade	Average price vs. area	Avg. price vs. metro district	Avg. price vs. outer region	1-year price change	3-year price change	5-year price change
1	Kingsland	Southwest	$522,587	77.52	76.48	★★★½	69.72%	N/A	83.31%	9.55%	-0.67%	27.32%
2	Bowness	Northwest	$510,417	65.14	85.89	★★★	87.43%	N/A	81.37%	5.25%	15.10%	31.71%
3	Greenview	Northwest	$424,855	84.86	65.07	★★½	72.78%	N/A	67.73%	9.92%	6.19%	17.14%
4	Highwood	Northwest	$567,709	47.71	92.62	★★★	97.25%	N/A	90.50%	18.43%	4.42%	39.93%
5	Highland Park	Northwest	$530,707	58.72	80.41	★★★	90.91%	N/A	84.60%	4.20%	0.03%	40.27%
6	Acadia	Southeast	$456,662	67.43	65.80	★★★	87.47%	N/A	72.80%	4.66%	1.24%	20.99%
7	Windsor Park	Southwest	$829,886	22.94	98.16	★★★½	110.72%	N/A	132.29%	25.63%	14.17%	56.56%
8	Silver Springs	Northwest	$549,338	55.96	67.91	★★★½	94.10%	N/A	87.57%	6.16%	-0.16%	22.12%
9	Woodbine	Southwest	$513,018	79.82	54.28	★★★	68.45%	N/A	81.78%	3.71%	-1.50%	18.66%
10	Fairview	Southeast	$432,502	75.69	57.69	★★★	82.84%	N/A	68.94%	0.83%	1.29%	19.43%
11	Haysboro	Southwest	$489,909	82.57	48.97	★★★	65.36%	N/A	78.10%	-2.70%	-2.77%	21.43%
12	Falconridge	Northeast	$316,940	84.40	58.22	★★½	85.27%	N/A	50.52%	-1.17%	-2.00%	23.19%
13	Riverbend	Southeast	$446,035	71.56	59.60	★★★	85.44%	N/A	71.10%	2.42%	-1.22%	21.15%
14	Huntington Hills	Northwest	$407,123	87.16	46.70	★★★	69.74%	N/A	64.90%	-0.72%	-4.82%	21.04%
15	Deer Run	Southeast	$490,206	61.01	78.03	★★★	93.90%	N/A	78.14%	5.57%	10.68%	23.17%
16	Castleridge	Northeast	$338,438	77.06	62.80	★★½	91.05%	N/A	53.95%	-2.42%	1.04%	24.56%
17	Lakeview	Southwest	$836,487	21.56	91.91	★★★½	111.60%	N/A	133.34%	14.45%	13.35%	33.84%
18	Dalhousie	Northwest	$588,714	44.04	75.51	★★★½	100.85%	N/A	93.85%	8.18%	1.95%	22.39%
19	Queensland	Southeast	$394,681	86.24	51.08	★★½	75.60%	N/A	62.92%	3.02%	-4.17%	19.71%
20	Westgate	Southwest	$585,928	63.30	52.17	★★★½	78.17%	N/A	93.40%	4.97%	-0.06%	16.48%
21	MacEwan Glen	Northwest	$443,956	80.28	47.53	★★★	76.05%	N/A	70.77%	0.92%	0.76%	16.37%
22	Glamorgan	Southwest	$552,419	73.39	48.77	★★★	73.70%	N/A	88.06%	3.05%	-4.51%	18.79%
23	Southwood	Southwest	$448,555	85.78	37.88	★★★	59.84%	N/A	71.50%	-0.23%	-3.34%	15.81%
24	Banff Trail	Northwest	$673,502	24.77	84.77	★★★½	115.37%	N/A	107.36%	5.81%	1.75%	35.39%
25	Chinook Park	Southwest	$761,356	32.11	76.65	★★★½	101.58%	N/A	121.37%	10.36%	4.01%	21.63%

Value: Measures how affordable the neighbourhood is compared to the surrounding area and the region overall
Momentum: Measures how quickly prices are appreciating in this neighbourhood, with an emphasis on long term appreciation
Realtor Grade: How realtors we surveyed rate this neighbourhood

For more, please see our complete methodology

These are our picks for the best neighbourhoods to buy real estate in Calgary’s core, but if you’d rather live farther from the hustle and bustle of downtown, we have more suggestions. We ranked the best neighbourhoods in two regions — core/inner suburbs and outer. The core is the city’s urban centre, with accessible transit and easy access to amenities. And the outer region is for buyers who either don’t need to commute downtown at all, or are willing to log some serious travel time in exchange for affordable prices and wide open spaces. Check out the map below to see how the regions break down.