Calgary real estate: Where to buy in the outer suburbs 2018

View neighbourhood rankings by region:

1. Evanston (NW)

The No. 1 neighbourhood in the suburban ranking (and the No. 3 in the overall Calgary list) is one of the city’s youngest neighbourhoods. Evanston rose in the ranks because buyers can secure a detached house for about 90% less than in other parts of the northwest quadrant. To put that in perspective, the average house price in Evanston is about $100,000 cheaper than the city’s average price for a single-family home.

For the last couple of years, the neighbourhood’s price momentum slowed but local realtors think that has more to do with the “new factor” starting to fade. As one Calgary’s newer neighbourhoods (it was established in 2003), Evanston’s population really started to grow in 2010. That’s when young families started to buying into the community and settling into commuter life. Now, 27% of the neighbourhood’s population is under the age of 14 (according to 2014 census figures). Drive through the community on the weekend and you’ll see families enjoying their front and back yards, BBQs in the park and loads of dog walkers enjoying the neighbourhood’s green space. In fact, the community was built with neighbourhood interaction in mind, with most homes boasting front verandahs (to encourage neighbour interaction) and a distinct lack of fences throughout the community.

GALLERY: Top 10 Calgary neighbourhoods to buy in

Commuters need to be mindful: There isn’t a lot of public transit in this neighbourhood, so commuting by car is the only real option. This also means things can get quite congested around Symons Valley Road, as this is the only access point into the community.

2. New Brighton (SE)

Another newer neighbourhood on our suburban list is New Brighton. The residents in this community love that their neighbourhood offers a private neighbourhood clubhouse with a water park, outdoor skating rink, tennis courts, beach volleyball and basketball courts. Sound amazing? That’s the reaction the initial community developers wanted when they began to build homes in this southeast area. It’s the reaction they got. Many current residents love what the neighbourhood offers and, as a result, the community has become very family-oriented.

The average cost of a home in New Brighton is 19% cheaper than the average cost of a home in the City of Calgary and 13% cheaper than the average cost of a home in the southeast quadrant of the city. Because of the great value New Brighton offers, the neighbourhood climbed to the No. 2 spot in our outer suburban ranking.

3. Copperfield (SE)

Another good option in the southeast part of the city is the neighbourhood of Copperfield. As the No. 3 neighbourhood in our outer suburban ranking, Copperfield made it to the list because it offers great value. Like New Brighton, the average cost of a home in this community is 21% cheaper the than the average cost of a home in the City of Calgary and 14% cheaper than the average cost of a home in the southeast quadrant of the city. This isn’t too surprising, considering Copperfield is directly south of New Brighton.

The difference is that Copperfield doesn’t offer the same recreational facilities as the neighbouring New Brighton and homes are typically on smaller lots (although, they still tend to be well-designed architecturally). Also, rather than just offering single-family homes, the Copperfield neighbourhood also offers semi-detached, townhomes and even condos.

Residents in Copperfield find that even without the clubhouse, there’s still plenty to do. There are three different ponds in the community, numerous parks and play areas and many of the outdoor fields and recreation facilities are connected by walking paths.

4. Nolan Hill (NW)

In the northwest quadrant of the city, the Symons Valley area offers five communities: Evanston, Kincora, Sage Hill, Sherwood and Nolan Hill, our No. 4 neighbourhood in our suburban Calgary rankings.

Developed by United Communities, this neighbourhood was built for families. It boasts six playgrounds, a large Sobey’s grocery store, plenty of green space (including 500 acres of a scenic environmental reserve) and great access to Creekside and Beacon Hill shopping centres. But it’s not like Calgary home buyers don’t know the benefits of this community and it shows in the pricing. The average cost of homes in Nolan Hill is on par with the average cost of homes in suburban Calgary neighbourhoods ($543,700 and $556,300, respectively). The real value is that homes in these suburban communities are quite a bit cheaper than the average home in communities closer to Calgary’s urban core — about $75,000 cheaper.

Those that commute understand that it will take time to get to and from the downtown core — anywhere from 20 minutes in off-traffic hours to 45 minutes to an hour during rush hour.

5. Cranston (SE)

The No. 5 spot on our suburban Calgary list goes to Cranston, a neighbourhood in the southeastern quadrant of the city. Cranston, like Copperfield and New Brighton, is a newer neighbourhood that was specifically established to attract young couples and families. It boasts great access to outdoor fun in nearby Fish Creek Provincial Park and provides residents with commercial hubs, such as Cranston Corner and Cranston Market.

As can be expected, homeownership is high in this community, with almost 90% of dwellings occupied by owners. Since the average price for a home in Cranston is on par with district and city averages, the real reason why this neighbourhood is on our list is because property values have held their own over the last half-decade, and that’s saying a lot. In one year, property prices in this community increased, on average, by 7.28%, while in five years property values increased by almost 18%. “Development in this community continued recently with the latest phase starting in 2010,” explains Justin Havre, Realtor with Re/Max First.

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	Evanston	Northwest	$512,851	64.71	81.48	★★★½	87.85%	N/A	92.19%	2.52%	3.03%	23.29%
2	New Brighton	Southeast	$452,327	76.47	52.32	★★★★	86.64%	N/A	81.31%	0.15%	-1.34%	14.03%
3	Copperfield	Southeast	$437,400	83.82	53.65	★★★½	83.78%	N/A	78.63%	0.97%	0.02%	12.79%
4	Nolan Hill	Northwest	$543,689	47.06	88.24	★★★	93.13%	N/A	97.73%	1.38%	11.37%	55.86%
5	Cranston	Southeast	$551,822	30.88	82.69	★★★★	105.70%	N/A	99.20%	7.28%	6.64%	17.73%
6	Walden	Southeast	$497,032	57.35	82.31	★★★	95.20%	N/A	89.35%	3.76%	-1.21%	26.33%
7	Cougar Ridge	Southwest	$630,364	47.06	77.72	★★★	84.10%	N/A	113.31%	9.13%	-2.57%	19.73%
8	Auburn Bay	Southeast	$570,576	26.47	78.50	★★★★	109.29%	N/A	102.57%	1.64%	2.96%	21.68%
9	West Springs	Southwest	$896,508	13.24	95.50	★★★½	119.61%	N/A	161.16%	15.41%	6.36%	25.07%
10	Sage Hill	Northwest	$521,982	57.35	65.17	★★★	89.42%	N/A	93.83%	0.39%	-1.73%	19.41%
11	McKenzie Towne	Southeast	$446,419	79.41	19.94	★★★★	85.51%	N/A	80.25%	-0.66%	-3.09%	7.22%
12	Shawnessy	Southwest	$407,262	97.06	33.02	★★★	54.34%	N/A	73.21%	-3.40%	-4.09%	12.29%
13	Bridlewood	Southwest	$403,189	100.00	25.45	★★★	53.79%	N/A	72.48%	-0.90%	-5.19%	11.09%
14	Royal Oak	Northwest	$583,068	32.35	71.52	★★★½	99.88%	N/A	104.81%	4.74%	2.66%	15.30%
15	Mahogany	Southeast	$602,795	22.06	68.03	★★★★	115.46%	N/A	108.36%	-0.15%	4.76%	19.12%
16	Skyview Ranch	Northeast	$467,772	42.65	73.22	★★★	125.85%	N/A	84.09%	2.87%	-0.25%	19.26%
17	McKenzie Lake	Southeast	$517,352	50.00	33.31	★★★★	99.10%	N/A	93.00%	4.50%	-4.18%	8.21%
18	Evergreen	Southwest	$520,930	69.12	37.08	★★★	69.50%	N/A	93.64%	3.18%	-3.26%	9.53%
19	Somerset	Southwest	$424,939	91.18	19.39	★★★	56.69%	N/A	76.39%	-1.33%	-4.53%	9.24%
20	Millrise	Southwest	$415,459	94.12	18.78	★★★	55.43%	N/A	74.68%	-3.70%	-5.84%	11.01%
21	Tuscany	Northwest	$550,871	44.12	40.80	★★★★	94.36%	N/A	99.02%	2.60%	-1.86%	10.55%
22	Woodlands	Southwest	$506,345	75.00	26.27	★★★	67.56%	N/A	91.02%	-2.02%	-5.22%	11.65%
23	Midnapore	Southeast	$460,513	72.06	30.19	★★★	88.21%	N/A	82.78%	5.85%	-3.98%	7.06%
24	Silverado	Southwest	$474,260	80.88	24.44	★★★	63.27%	N/A	85.25%	2.71%	-6.41%	7.96%
25	Sundance	Southeast	$523,405	39.71	57.60	★★★	100.26%	N/A	94.09%	-0.87%	1.30%	15.81%

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 outer region, but if you’d rather live closer to 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.