Leanne Larsen
CIR Realty
Calgary Realtor since 2001
What I’ve learned about Calgary from selling homes here: “I’ve been doing realty for 23 years now. It’s about helping people, this business, I think. It’s about what’s best for them, and it takes patience sometimes. People get the urge [to buy] in the spring when the weather starts getting nice, but sometimes you can get a better deal in the wintertime when there’s not as much selection.
“The area you choose to buy in is important because you want to make sure that your investment is going to increase over time. I always tell people to buy not the nicest house in the neighbourhood, but if everyone else around you has nicer houses, it will keep your value up. Lastly, don’t be shopping unless you know you can actually buy the home you’re shopping for. We’re often seeing multiple offers and sometimes they’re asking for a pre-approval letter. If you don’t have that, you might not be able to get the property.
But, when people find the right one, you know it, because they get that feeling when they walk in that ‘this is the one for me.’ Houses wait for the right person, I believe that.”
Robert Price
Founder and CEO of Bode, an online platform for buying and selling property
Started Bode in 2019
What I’ve learned about Calgary from selling homes here: “I think Calgary’s market is really interesting because, [when it comes to building homes,] there are no limits to it. In all directions, there is farmland as far as the eye can see. So, we have big decisions to make at a policy level: Do we want to build up, do we want to build out or do we want to do some blend of both? I think there’s a great opportunity to create a really good blend of all products across all pricing types.
“But, choosing Calgary always comes down to the people. We’ve more than tripled our population since I’ve grown up here and, although the city has become a sprawling city, it is also a much more interesting city because of the [increased] diversity, the choices in terms of restaurants, in terms of art, and in how we now have this amazing tech ecosystem. From a real estate perspective, I think we’ve done a good job of developing the city that way, but, from here, going from 1.6 million to three, four, or five million, we have big decisions to make on how we want to develop in the future.”
Sarah McLaren
TREC Calgary
Realtor since 2020
What I’ve learned about Calgary from selling homes here: “I ended up getting licensed in March of 2020, which was when everyone was hearing about COVID. Because real-estate was considered an essential service, realtors didn’t stop working the whole way through [the pandemic]. How I learned to practise realty was very different from how most people learn: usually you walk alongside a mentor and have somebody guiding you step by step — I couldn’t even get within six feet of people. So, I was on my own for much of it, which was great, in a way, because it pushed me.
“I am originally from B.C. and I’ve always liked Calgary, but I think, working in the real estate sector, I’ve come to appreciate it so much more. I just think Calgary is an incredible place to live. From the quality of life to affordability to the people. Realtors meet people from all different walks of life, all different industries and there are just really incredible people here in Calgary, which I guess says more about the city than anything else.
But there are also such nice areas in Calgary … And there’s constant expansion happening. We have new communities popping up all the time and I think that’s a big reason why lots of people from both eastern Canada and B.C. are congregating here.”
[Note: A previous version of this story featured an interview with realtor Ankush Attri; Mr. Attri has requested his comments be removed as they were specific to the period at which he was interviewed (spring 2024) and do no longer reflect his views on the real estate market in Calgary.]
