Calgary

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Calgary Real Estate has grown dramatically since 2004. Up to January of 2007 some home prices in Calgary were experiencing 50% gains on the year. Homes were being built to the north and West of the city as fast as land could be surveyed. The average price of a single-family home in Calgary in January of 2004 was $238,185. The average price of the same type of home in December of 2006, almost 2 years later, was $396,870, a 67% percent increase over 2 years. These large jumps in home prices give homeowners more equity, but also squeeze some first time homebuyers out of the market. The average sale price for real estate sold throught the MLS system in the Calgary area was over $480,000 in August, 2007.

Calgary is the largest Canadian metropolitan area between Toronto and Vancouver, and is well known as a destination for winter sports with a number of major mountain resorts near the city and metropolitan area. Economic activity in Calgary is mostly centred on the petroleum industry; however, agriculture, tourism, and high-tech industries also contribute to the city's fast economic growth. Calgary also holds many major annual festivals, including the Calgary Stampede, the Calgary Fringe Festival, The Calgary International Film Festival, and The International Festival of Animated Objects. In 1988, Calgary became the first Canadian city to host the Olympic Winter Games. Calgary also has many ongoing cultural events and locations including The Glenbow Museum, Theatre Calgary, The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts, and Canada Olympic Park.

Before the Calgary area was settled by Europeans, it was the domain of the Blackfoot people whose presence has been traced back at least 11,000 years. In 1787 cartographer David Thompson spent the encamped along the Bow River. He was the first recorded European to visit the area and John Glenn was the first documented European settler in the Calgary Area, in 1873.

Fort Calgary was named by Colonel James Macleod. When the Canadian Pacific Railway reached the area in 1883 and a rail station was constructed, Calgary began to grow into an important commercial and agricultural centre. The CPR headquarters are located in Calgary today. Calgary was officially incorporated as a town in 1884 and became the first city in what was then the Northwest Territories.

Oil was first discovered in Alberta in 1902, but it didn't become a significant industry in the province until 1947 when huge reserves of it were discovered. Calgary quickly found itself at the centre of the ensuing oil boom. Some companies still reaping the benefits of the oil industry are: Petro-Canada, BP, Shell, Encana, Suncor, Esso (Imperial Oil), and TransCanada Pipelines. Other major employers in Calgary include: Westjet, Telus, Shaw, Atco, Fluor, Forzani Group, and Nortel.

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