With the 2022 property assessments now in the hands of owners across the city, LiveWire Calgary is taking a deeper dive into the data.
We wanted to chop the massive amount of data up into bite-sized chunks to create some interesting comparisons.
First we are looking at secondary suite designations—or lack there of. Specifically those single detached homes that are not on narrow lots, or have land use designations that contain provisions for side-by-side homes, row houses, duplexes, or townhouses.
The City of Calgary’s property assessment open data set contains 67 different designations for land use. These contain designations for residential, commercial, industrial, direct control, and special purpose properties throughout the city.
There are six different residential land use designations that offer direct comparisons for single detached homes only that allow for secondary suites, and those which do not.
| Land Use Designation | Description |
|---|---|
| R-1 | R-1 is a residential designation in developing areas that is primarily for single-detached homes. |
| R-1s | R-1s is a residential designation in developing areas that is primarily for single-detached homes that may include a secondary suite. |
| R-C1 | R-C1 is a residential designation in developed areas that is primarily for single-detached homes. |
| R-C1s | R-C1s is a residential designation in developed areas that is primarily for single-detached homes that may include a secondary suite. |
| R-C1L | R-C1L is a residential designation in developed areas that is primarily for single-detached homes on large parcels. |
| R-C1Ls | R-C1Ls is a residential designation in developed areas that is primarily for single-detached homes on large parcels where homes may include a secondary suite. |
Not all communities in Calgary contain these land use designations. In total, 157 out of 308 communities and residual sub-areas of the city contain either R-1 or R-C1 designations or their derivatives.
Other land use designations in use by the city that do not have direct comparisons between properties that allow and disallow secondary suites include the following:
| Land Use Designation | Description |
|---|---|
| R-1N | R-1N is a residential designation in developing areas that is primarily for single-detached homes on narrow or small parcels where homes may include a secondary suite. |
| R-2 | R-2 is a residential designation in developing areas that is primarily for single detached, side-by-side and duplex homes. Single-detached homes may include a secondary suite. |
| R-C1N | R-C1N is a residential designation in developed areas that is primarily for single-detached homes on narrow or small parcels where homes may include a secondary suite. |
| R-C2 | R-C2 is a residential designation in developed areas that is primarily for single detached, side-by-side and duplex homes. Single-detached homes may include a secondary suite. |
| R-CG | R-CG is a residential designation that is primarily for rowhouses but also allows for single detached, side-by-side and duplex homes that may include a secondary suite. |
| R-G | The R-G district is for a mix of low density housing forms in suburban greenfield locations , including single-detached, side by side, duplex , cottage housing clusters and rowhouse development, all of which may include secondary suite. |
By the numbers
For 2022, properties that do not have allowances for secondary suites had a lower median assessment value than those properties with secondary suite allowances. For the former, the median assessment was $514,000, with 75 per cent of properties under $638,000.
For properties that could include a secondary suite, the median assessment was $670,000, with 75 per cent of properties under $835,000. None of the properties were assessed at under $210,000.
There were significantly more properties without the secondary suite allowance than with. In 2022, only 3,815 properties had the allowance, while 168,842 did not.
In general, the range of increases in assessment values for properties with secondary suite allowances was higher than those without.
Crescent Heights saw the largest decrease at -2.5 percent for non-"s" designated land use designated properties. While Bowness saw -1.8 per cent. For the increases, the community of Parkland was the highest for the former at 14.2 per cent, while Cornerstone had a 24.8 per cent increase.
The average was 8.2 per cent versus 10.3 per cent.
