Every Calgary community tells a story… and the older ones leave the best clues. As time marches on, the gap grows between untouched originals and freshly renovated gems. That gap is where the money is made. Buy low, improve smart, and sell into a higher price band - it’s the oldest wealth-building strategy in real estate.
Southwood is a renovator’s dream and a first-time buyer’s friend. Solid 1960s homes on bigger lots, mature trees, great transit, walkable conveniences - but still priced where smart buyers can get in and win. Opportunity is alive and well here. And it’s not waiting forever.
Southwood is one of Calgary’s established southwest neighbourhoods - walkable, transit-connected, and filled with the kind of mature trees and larger lots that new suburbs only dream about. Homes here were built from 1957 through 2011, with the average build year around 1968. Translation: solid bones, great locations, and decades of improvements layered in.
From a real estate standpoint, Southwood offers a strong mix of property types and sales since 1980:
Detached Homes: 2,784
Townhomes: 697
Apartments: 565
Half Duplexes: 337
With the Southland and Anderson C-Train stations close by - plus quick routes via Macleod Trail and 14th Street - Southwood punches far above its weight class for convenience.
A Community’s Life Cycle — Told Through Price Growth
The chart below includes every detached home sold in Southwood since 1980. It tells a familiar story: modest pricing in the early years, then a huge lift during the 2000s as the rest of Calgary discovered what residents here already knew - Southwood is a great place to live.
As the community matured, something important happened…
The gap between original and renovated homes widened. Updated homes climbed quickly in value while untouched ones lagged behind. That spread is the renovation cycle - and it is still underway.
Opportunity loves neighborhoods like this.
Charts created by Jerry Charlton using verified Calgary MLS® data
Price Per Square Foot — The Real Indicator of Value
When you track price per square foot over time, the picture becomes even sharper:
Before 2005: homes clustered in a narrow price band
After 2005: a clean separation between upgraded homes and originals
This tells us two things:
1️⃣ Buyers are willing to pay a premium for improvements
2️⃣ There are still homes waiting for their turn to be updated and re-priced significantly higher
Investor language?
Buy below the community average PPSF, improve, and let the market do the work.
Charts created by Jerry Charlton using verified Calgary MLS® data
Who Should Be Looking at Southwood?
✅ First-time buyers who want long-term value
✅ Investors searching for below-average pricing opportunities
✅ Renovators who know how to unlock higher price bands
✅ Downsizers who want transit-friendly convenience in a mature area
Southwood continues to evolve - and the market keeps rewarding those who recognize its potential early.
If you’d like to see the best Southwood opportunities for today’s buyers and investors, just reach out - I can help you find them before everyone else does.
Calgary Real Estate Market Charts by Jerry Charlton – Verified MLS® Data
📊 About These Calgary Real Estate Charts
Every chart and analysis on this page was exclusively created by Jerry Charlton using actual MLS® data, verified and compiled from thousands of Calgary home sales.
This same in-depth research is available for any Calgary community, property type, condo building, townhome complex, or niche market worth exploring and investing in.
Real data. Real insight. Real opportunities