The Condo Craze

Lying in bed in a high-rise condo, watching a cloud pass by your window at eye level, makes you feel like you are living in the sky. A Calgary condo can offer the experience of being close to the ground or the thrill of being high in the heavens!

It’s a city that captures life’s natural beauty with our parks and our majestic rocky mountains, and, of course, there are endless opportunities for shopping and enjoying delicious restaurants. Inhabited by some of the friendliest people around, the city energizes. Then you add in another definition of Calgary as the “Economic Energy Powerhouse of Canada” along with the endless opportunities available to live an extraordinary life here, and we couldn’t love Calgary any more than we already do.

Calgary‘s condo market is gearing up as a market that offers an array of great neighborhoods and many diverse styles of living. With developments popping up everywhere, condos such as the Alura Project of Cove Properties offer, in our opinion, the best value in the core of our city.

People interested in purchasing a home should consider the many advantages of condo living. Whether you are considering buying a place in the heart of the city or on the outskirts, condos have no exterior maintenance. You can say good-bye to snow removal and mowing the lawn. You can lock your condo door and fly away south for a month. Put your mind at ease—the outside work is of no worry, and close-by neighbors can keep an eye on your home.

Smaller spaces are great for creating a clutter-free life, as you won’t have much room for junk. You, also, won’t have to spend hours cleaning, which gives you more time to do the things you love.

Most condos are less expensive than a large home, which means you have more of your income to use for those trips you want to go on, and for those date nights on the weekends.

We see downtown condo living in Calgary becoming more and more popular as many people like the idea of not needing a car. You can walk to and from work—even in 30 below weather, or you can hop on the LRT and be at your office in no time. That certainly beats being stuck in traffic or a snowbank miles from home or employment.

The illuminating lights that sparkle at night are one of the sexiest draws of downtown living. Especially, since most of us are busy working all day, we want to have something special to capture our attention when coming home at night, to take away the stress of the day.

Selecting the right condo to live in comes down to two key components: a location that best suits your lifestyle and a functional floor-plan that fits your needs. Once those functional components are found, adding your personal flair to your new space makes it all come together, creating a comfortable lifestyle.

We recommend sitting down with an interior designer after you have purchased a condo. Meeting with a professional who loves learning about what makes you tick and is knowledgeable about design trends can really add value to your new home.

Many people shy away from hiring a designer, believing they are too expensive. But that is not necessarily true. Currently, especially here in Calgary, we have firms such as the “Condo Quickie” by Lux design. They offer innovative solutions in creating a design that maximizes the potential of your space to best reflect your style and personality. The best part about having access to a group like this one is their flat rate of $1,299.00—it doesn’t matter how many hours you spend with them, you only pay the one-time fee. Check them out at www.luxcondodesign.com.

We asked their head designer here in Calgary, Paige Johnston, what the biggest design trend is for 2013, and here’s what she said:

“Mix and Don’t Match!” She further explained, “When it comes to designing your space, let yourself be influenced by what draws you in and inspires you instead of trying to adhere to a single design style. In fact, let’s have the mantra for 2013 be ‘mix and don’t match.’ Put a natural driftwood bowl in the center of your metropolitan glass and chrome cocktail table, layer an off-white cowhide on top of your Persian carpet, or mix cushions with contrasting prints on your sofa. When you mix and layer your metals, woods, prints, and colors, you create a space that is a testament to who you are and represents what you love!”

Consequently, if you are zoning in on the condo craze here in Calgary, make sure you do your research. Make that wish list, tour around, and start crossing developments off the list; in turn, this will bring into sharper focus the perfect home sooner rather than later. Love Calgary Real Estate would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you to hear about how you aspire to live, or to hear about your investment plan. We understand the intricacies of buying or selling in Calgary’s real estate market, and we strive to give our clients an unparalleled degree of personalized attention for a great experience.