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Article By Barb Livingstone - Dec 16, 2020

Calgary’s downtown office vacancy rate is going nowhere but up.

By the end of this year, that rate is projected to jump to 29.5 per cent, and it will climb even higher moving into 2021, says Greg Kwong, regional managing director with commercial real estate company CBRE.

The year-end number is an increase from the 28.7 per cent vacancy rate in the third quarter of 2020 and represents nearly 13 million square feet of office accommodation that is currently empty.

The future, Kwong says, continues to be clouded by low oil prices and the ongoing effects of COVID-19.

“Companies are delaying decisions on office space because they don’t know who is going to be working from where,” he said, adding that in a normal market, downtown office vacancy rates are around eight per cent, so “there’s a long way to go.”

Next year, Kwong says the merger between Cenovus Energy and Husky Energy will result in a lot of additional sublease space, which could push the vacancy rate past 30 per cent, especially when other mergers are expected.

CBRE’s assessment is echoed by Calgary Economic Development CEO Mary Moran, who says to fill the current vacant space there would have to be another 130,000 employees moved into downtown (at 100 to 110 square feet per person).

“IT UNDERSCORES WHY WE HAVE TO PURSUE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES. THERE IS NO ONE SILVER BULLET; IT’S A LONG, DECADE-OR-TWO PROJECT.” – MARY MORAN, CALGARY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CEO

Even a minor rebound in the energy industry – whether it came from, green energy, pipelines or another sector – is not expected to be the mega job creator of past booms.

“It underscores why we have to pursue other opportunities,” said Moran, including agriculture, aerospace, logistics, life-sciences, finance, insurance and tech industries. “There is no one silver bullet; it’s a long, decade-or-two project.”

She does, however, point to one bright spot in the form of four “unicorn” deals (when a company reaches a $1-billion valuation) done in Calgary in the last 22 months. The latest was tech company Benevity, which recently announced a $1.1-billion deal with a U.K. investor.

People currently working downtown are utilizing 25 to 30 per cent of the core’s office capacity, says Kwong, with the rest working from home or no longer working. That figure could drop even further, given the latest round of pandemic restrictions.

This all raises the difficult question of whether, and when, people will be comfortable going back to offices.

At the beginning of the shutdown, many experts predicted corporations would give up or shrink their office space and continue to have staff work from home even after the pandemic was over. However, Kwong thinks CEOs are going to recognize employees working from home isn’t an efficient solution long-term – except, perhaps, for small parts of their businesses.

Post-pandemic, he expects any new full-time work-from-home contingent will only result in a reduction of less than 10 per cent when it comes to the office space needs of an average company.

Kwong’s prediction is supported by a recent employer survey conducted by real estate firm Colliers, which estimates work-from-home employee productivity dropped by more than 23 per cent in November. This was attributed to a variety of causes, including potential erosion of workplace culture and “Zoom fatigue.”

The survey also found 54 per cent of businesses across Canada expect 100 per cent of employees to return to the office once a vaccine is available.

However, Kwong anticipates Calgary’s downtown won’t return to normal levels of office occupancy until the end of 2021.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract.

Photo by Paradise Restored Landscaping & Exterior Design 

By Lauren Sieben | Sep 24, 2020

If you imagined 2020 was the year you would finally list your house for sale, you may have hit the brakes on those plans when the coronavirus pandemic arrived.

But now, we’re more than six months into the COVID-19 era with no clear end in sight. As many people continue working and logging in to school from home, the real estate market is again heating up with buyers eager to upgrade to a new home.

So stop putting it off: Now is the time to step on the gas in preparing your home to sell. We talked with experts to learn which home improvements will hit the right note with buyers during the pandemic (and beyond).

1. Upgrade your outdoor space

2. Create a functional home office or classroom

Many workers aren’t heading back to the office until 2021 or even later, which means home office space is at a premium, along with space for kids to log in to their virtual classrooms.

“People need a dedicated space for multiple people to be able to be on calls at the same time,” says Walker, who currently works at home alongside his wife, and his kids attending school virtually. “It definitely creates challenges when we all need to be on calls and need space to work.

Even if you don’t need two home offices or a remote learning station for your own family, consider staging your home to show the possibilities for buyers.

“Staging a guest bedroom as a home office or classroom is a good idea,” Walker says. “The potential buyer can see the room being used in a versatile way and visualize it for themselves.”

Plus, most of us host guests in our guest rooms for less than a month per year, Walker says—and probably even less during the pandemic.

3. Add separation of space

Open floor plans are so 2019.

“Open floor plans are losing a bit of luster,” Malina says. “Homeowners are looking for distinct spaces for family members to work or study.”

If your space isn’t well-segmented, you may want to create separate spaces by adding barn doors or pocket doors—or even room dividers for a quick and easy solution.

Having distinct rooms helps to minimize volume from other people’s activities, and can also create a different feeling in each part of the house.

“As people are spending more time at home, they want room and different environments to not feel stuck inside,” Walker says.

4. Add space for a home gym

Many people are forgoing the gym during the pandemic, preferring to work up a sweat from home to minimize risks of coronavirus transmission. That means people are looking for space to house gym equipment, from yoga mats to treadmills and stationary bikes.

Your home may not have the space for a fully equipped home gym, but you can still carve out a corner where home buyers will be able to picture their future at-home HIIT workouts or yoga flows.

5. Give your in-law suite a makeover

If you have a guest house, this can be an attractive feature for buyers right now—especially those with multigenerational households, or people looking for a potential source of rental income.

“With people bringing elderly family members home, [additional dwelling units] are a good option, especially if there is a kitchen and bathroom,” Walker says. “Even if this space isn't used for personal reasons, it can be an investment property.”

6. Spruce up the laundry room

Concerns about cleanliness and hygiene have been at an all-time high during the pandemic, which means “laundry rooms are more important than pre-COVID,” Malina says.

People are doing laundry more often after running errands, and many of us have become more diligent about washing our bed linens. Plus, who couldn’t use more room for ironing, folding, and hang-drying clothes?

“Having a dedicated space to do laundry is a wonderful luxury, and buyers often want the space to be beautiful like the rest of their homes,” Malina says.

Information courtesy of Realtor.com

CREB®Now By Cody Stuart  -  Jun 12, 2020

Home > Feature > Calgary > Community > My Neighborhood: Mount Royal

The communities of Upper and Lower Mount Royal have long been home to an eclectic mix of everything Calgary’s real estate scene has to offer.

Promoted in Calgary’s early days as an exclusive neighbourhood by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), Mount Royal was originally known as American Hill, due to the large number of Americans who settled in the area. Its current name is an homage to the Montreal community that was home to CPR president William Cornelius Van Horne.

The community was annexed by the City of Calgary in 1907 and many of the existing homes in Upper Mount Royal date back to that era, when Calgary saw its first building boom. Upper Mount Royal remained an almost exclusively single-detached community, but Lower Mount Royal was subdivided into smaller lots, making way for the mixed-density community it is today.

Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or a real estate veteran looking for something a little more exclusive, Mount Royal has something for everyone. In fact, it was the obvious choice for 31-year-old Mario DeMarco when he chose to buy his first home in the community in 2014.

CREB^®Now: Why is Mount Royal a great place to live?

Lower Mount Royal resident Mario DeMarco. Cody Stuart / CREB®Now

DeMarco: Mount Royal – in my case, Lower Mount Royal – is a great place to live because of the walkability of the community. There are numerous amenities all within walking distance.  Additionally, you are close to both the Bow and Elbow rivers. The small shops along 17^th Avenue, as well as the bars and restaurants, create a vibrant nightlife. It is especially cool during Stampede when there is a ton of out of town folks in the area. Additionally, as someone who has started to take up running again, there is not much better views to be had than the top of the hill behind the Glencoe Club.

CREB^®Now: What are your favourite spots or attractions from the community?

DeMarco: The Calgary Stampede is one of my favourite events. I personally am not a huge fan of Lilac Festival, but the energy it brings is great. As for businesses, I like the Ship and Anchor, and some of the restaurants like Market, Cleaver and Gringo Street are very good. For parks, the field behind Earl Grey school has a great view, and because it’s quite large, it’s a great place to chill out.

CREB^®Now: What is the biggest challenge facing Mount Royal?

DeMarco: One of the big challenges is the never-ending roadwork all along 17^th Avenue. This project is over a year behind schedule and they are not doing any roadwork or closures this year to give businesses a fighting chance.

CREB^®Now: What is the biggest opportunity for Mount Royal going forward?

DeMarco: I think we should also look to make things like 17th Avenue from 14th Street to 4th Street pedestrian only on Friday and Saturday nights. Many other cities do this, and the increased foot traffic would be great. We also need to have fewer bylaws. We have so many rules for things like having a can of beer walking on the street, or just anything fun seems to be against the rules. Calgary needs to chill out. We need to get people to come to areas like Mount Royal and the surrounding communities and make them a great place to live, work and play in again.

CREB^®Now: What’s one thing people might not know about Mount Royal?

DeMarco: Mount Royal can actually be very affordable if you look at some of the properties in Lower Mount Royal, and you can get a yard if you want it.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract.

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