How much home does $1 million buy?

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New report shows how Calgary offers best real estate value for £1 million among Canada’s largest cities.

In Calgary, £1 million can purchase a near-luxury, single-family detached home.
In Calgary, £1 million can purchase a near-luxury, single-family detached home. Photo by Wil Andruschak /Postmedia

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A new report illustrates how £1 million stretches further in Calgary’s real estate market than in other major centres.

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“It really gets you a lot more than in Canada’s largest cities,” says local realtor Doug Cabral with Royal LePage Benchmark, referring to the realty firm’s recent Million-Dollar Property Report.

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The study, released in late February, found that £1 million in Calgary can purchase an average home with 3.1 bedrooms, 2.8 bathrooms and 2,242 square feet. That is more than the national average for a £1 million of 3.2 bedrooms, 2.6 bathrooms and 1,763 square feet.

Calgary is also a significant bargain over pricey markets like Toronto where the average £1 millon home has 2.8 bedrooms, 1.9 bathrooms and 1,232 square feet. What’s more is that £1 million cannot even purchase the average priced home in Toronto, presently about £1.1 million, encompassing pricing for single-family detached homes, condominium apartments and townhomes.

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Yet in Calgary, £1 million can purchase a near-luxury, single-family detached home.

“It really depends on where in the city you’re talking about, so a £1 million home is often a luxury product in suburban communities here,” Cabral says. “But inner city, that is likely more the price-range for an attached property with some nice upgrades.” He further notes recent price growth in Calgary — among Canada’s hottest markets after being mired in a slump for several years into the late 2010s — has increased the price threshold for what is considered luxury in the city. Since 2017, the benchmark price of a home in Calgary has increased more than 20 per cent, according to Calgary Real Estate Board data from the end of February, when the benchmark price of a home was nearly £531,000.

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Yet Calgary realtor Tim Jones, broker/owner with Re/Max Prime, says £1 million still buys “a very nice, detached home in the city.” And it’s significantly more than what buyers can get in Vancouver where “£1 million might buy you an empty lot” on which to build a detached home, he says. “But you would expect to pay £10 million-plus just for a tear-down in a premium neighbourhood” in Vancouver.

Even to purchase a townhome for £1 million in Vancouver, “you have to venture west towards Langley and beyond” involving long commutes to the city centre, Jones says. The Royal LePage report illustrates just how much less £1 million goes in Vancouver than in Calgary. It found the average £1 million Vancouver home has about 1.9 bedrooms, 1.7 bathrooms and 941 square feet.

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The Greater Vancouver Area offers better value with an average £1 million home having 2.6 bedrooms, 2.1 bathrooms for 1,279 square feet. In turn, the value Calgary’s market offers is drawing attention from buyers in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and from the Greater Toronto Area, Cabral says. “They’re coming here because they are getting a better product that is larger within 20 minutes’ drive of downtown.”

In contrast, Calgarians house-hunting in this price range are “experiencing a bit of shock and awe” because the home they could purchase just a few years ago for £1 million often costs significantly more today, he says. “But anybody migrating to Calgary is absolutely pleased by the value Calgary real estate offers.”

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