Calgary Real Estate Glossary
The terms where the generic answer is wrong in Alberta — and the ones that quietly cost people money when they are not understood.
The three that most often trip up advice imported from elsewhere: Alberta has no land transfer tax, so Calgary closing costs run about 1.5–2% of price rather than the much higher figures common in Ontario or BC; a Real Property Report with a municipal compliance stamp is normally required from the seller and has no direct US equivalent; and Canadian mortgages compound semi-annually and are subject to the B-20 stress test, so US-convention calculations are wrong in both directions.
How to use this
Every term here is one where the generic answer, or the American one, is wrong in Alberta — or where not knowing it routinely costs someone money. A Real Property Report with a compliance stamp has no US equivalent. Alberta has no land transfer tax. Canadian mortgages compound semi-annually. Advice that misses those three is not slightly off; it is wrong by five figures.
25 terms, grouped. Each links directly, so you can send someone a single definition.
Alberta-specific
Real Property Report (RPR) also: RPR, surveyor's certificate
A legal document prepared by an Alberta Land Surveyor showing the property boundaries and the location of every structure on the parcel — house, garage, deck, fence, shed. In Alberta an RPR with a municipal compliance stamp is normally required by the seller at closing.
Why it matters: This has no direct equivalent in most US states, so imported advice misses it entirely. If a deck, garage or fence encroaches or breaches a setback, the compliance stamp will be refused and the seller must fix it, obtain an encroachment agreement, or negotiate. Getting an RPR updated takes weeks and routinely costs $700–$1,500, so it belongs on the pre-list checklist, not the week of possession.
Compliance stamp also: municipal compliance
A municipality's confirmation, stamped on a Real Property Report, that every improvement on the parcel complies with the current land use bylaw.
Why it matters: A compliance stamp is what turns an RPR from a drawing into a warranty. Without it, a buyer has no assurance the garage is legally where it stands.
Land transfer tax
A provincial tax charged on property transfers in most Canadian provinces. Alberta does not have one. Alberta charges only modest Land Titles registration fees, based on property value and mortgage amount.
Why it matters: This is the most common error in advice ported from Ontario or BC. In Toronto a buyer budgets tens of thousands for land transfer tax; in Calgary total closing costs typically run about 1.5–2% of price. Advice that assumes land transfer tax materially overstates the cash a Calgary buyer needs.
Financing
Mortgage stress test (B-20) also: stress test, qualifying rate
A federal requirement that a borrower qualify at the greater of their contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%, rather than at the rate they will actually pay.
Why it matters: It reduces what you can borrow, often by 15–20%. Combined with semi-annual compounding, it is why calculators built on US conventions produce Canadian numbers that are wrong in both directions.
Semi-annual compounding
The Canadian convention for fixed-rate mortgage interest: interest is compounded twice per year, not monthly as in the United States.
Why it matters: For the same nominal rate, a Canadian mortgage payment is slightly lower than a US one. Any calculator that compounds monthly overstates a Canadian payment.
GDS and TDS ratios also: gross debt service, total debt service
Gross Debt Service is the share of gross income going to housing costs — mortgage, property tax, heat, and half of condo fees. Total Debt Service adds all other debt. Common insured limits are 39% GDS and 44% TDS.
Why it matters: TDS is why paying down a car loan can raise your purchase price more than saving the same amount toward a down payment.
First Home Savings Account (FHSA) also: FHSA
A registered account for first-time buyers: contribute up to $8,000 per year to a $40,000 lifetime maximum, deduct contributions from taxable income like an RRSP, and withdraw tax-free to buy a home.
Why it matters: It is the rare account that is deductible going in and tax-free coming out. Contribution room only begins accruing once the account is opened, so opening one costs nothing and starts the clock.
Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) also: HBP
A program allowing a first-time buyer to withdraw up to $60,000 from an RRSP for a home purchase without immediate tax, repayable over 15 years.
Why it matters: It stacks with the FHSA. A couple using both can access a substantial down payment without either withdrawal being taxed.
Condominium
Special assessment
A one-time charge levied on condominium owners when the reserve fund cannot cover necessary work — commonly roof, building envelope, windows or parkade repairs.
Why it matters: Amounts of $10,000 to $40,000 per unit are not unusual on older Calgary buildings, and the obligation transfers with the unit. The estoppel certificate and the last two years of board minutes are where you find out whether one has been levied or is being contemplated.
Reserve fund study also: reserve fund
A professional assessment, required in Alberta at least every five years, of a condominium's common property, the remaining useful life of major components, and the contributions needed to fund their replacement.
Why it matters: The number that matters is the actual balance against what the study recommends. Above roughly 70% funded is healthy; below 40% strongly suggests a special assessment or steep fee increase is coming.
Estoppel certificate also: information statement
A statement from the condominium corporation confirming what a specific unit owes, whether contributions are in arrears, and whether any special assessment or litigation exists.
Why it matters: It is the corporation's binding word on the unit's financial position. Removing conditions without one means accepting unknown liabilities.
Bare land condominium also: bare land condo
A condominium in which the unit is a parcel of land rather than a defined space inside a building. The owner typically owns the land and the structure on it, while roads and shared amenities remain common property.
Why it matters: Row and townhouse listings can be freehold, conventional condominium, or bare land condominium, and they look identical in photos. Only the title tells you which, and the three carry very different obligations.
Insurance
Actual Cash Value (ACV) also: ACV
An insurance settlement basis that pays the depreciated value of damaged property rather than the cost to replace it.
Why it matters: Many Alberta policies switch roof coverage from Replacement Cost to ACV once the roof reaches about 15 years. On an $18,000–$26,000 Calgary roof replacement, that shift is a five-figure gap that falls on the owner — and it is rarely checked before an offer is written.
Replacement Cost Value (RCV) also: RCV
An insurance settlement basis that pays the full cost to replace damaged property with new material of like kind and quality, subject to the deductible.
Why it matters: The difference between RCV and ACV on an aging roof is one of the largest un-negotiated numbers in a Calgary transaction.
Loss assessment coverage
Coverage on a personal condominium policy that responds when the corporation charges its insurance deductible or a loss back to individual owners.
Why it matters: Alberta condo water and hail deductibles of $25,000–$100,000 are now common. If a loss originates in your unit the corporation can charge that deductible to you, so your personal policy needs matching coverage.
Calgary property
Legal secondary suite also: secondary suite, basement suite, legal suite
A self-contained dwelling within a house that has the required development and building permits, meets code for egress, ceiling height, fire separation and alarms, and is listed on the City of Calgary secondary suite registry.
Why it matters: Legality is the whole distinction. Lenders will count a portion of documented rent from a registered suite toward qualification; income from an unregistered suite is generally disregarded entirely, and an insurer may decline a claim arising from it.
Poly-B plumbing also: polybutylene
Grey flexible polybutylene supply piping installed in many homes built roughly 1985–1997, prone to failure at fittings.
Why it matters: Some insurers decline or surcharge homes with it, and full replacement commonly runs $6,000–$15,000. It is a documentable basis for a price adjustment rather than a vague complaint about condition.
Market data
Months of supply also: months of inventory
Current inventory divided by the monthly sales rate — how long it would take to sell every active listing at the current pace. Under 2 is a strong seller's market; 3–4 balanced; over 6 a buyer's market.
Why it matters: It is the single most useful market number, and in Calgary right now it must be read by segment: detached near 2.9 months against apartments near 4.9 describes two different markets inside one city.
MLS® benchmark price also: benchmark price
The modelled price of a typical home in a given area and property type, adjusted for differing features. Distinct from average price, which is skewed by unusual sales, and median price, which is the middle sale.
Why it matters: Benchmark is the honest measure of what a comparable home did. A rising average with a flat benchmark usually means the mix of what sold changed, not that values rose.
Sales-to-new-listings ratio also: SNLR
Sales in a period divided by new listings in the same period, expressed as a percentage. Roughly 40–60% is balanced; above suggests a seller's market, below a buyer's.
Why it matters: It turns before months of supply does, which makes it the better early warning that conditions are shifting.
Data and licensing
DDF® (Data Distribution Facility) also: DDF
CREA's national feed of active MLS® listings, licensed to members for public display on their own websites.
Why it matters: DDF carries active listings only and does not distinguish a sold listing from an expired or withdrawn one — a listing simply leaves the feed. Any claim that DDF data shows what sold is wrong.
VOW (Virtual Office Website) also: VOW
A licensed arrangement permitting a brokerage to show registrant-level data, including sold history, to registered consumers behind authentication.
Why it matters: In this market sold data is available only under the Pillar 9™ VOW licence and cannot be published openly. Anyone offering open Calgary sold prices per property is either misdescribing aggregate data or breaching a licence.
Alternative ownership
Option fee also: lease-option, rent-to-own option fee
An upfront, usually non-refundable payment in a rent-to-own or lease-option agreement — commonly 2–5% of the purchase price — that buys the right, not the obligation, to purchase later at a fixed price.
Why it matters: In most standard agreements, a tenant who cannot qualify for a mortgage at the end of the term forfeits the option fee and all accrued rent credits. It is the clause that most often costs people money, and the one least often read.
Caveat
A notice registered against a title in Alberta warning that someone claims an interest in the land.
Why it matters: For anyone entering a rent-to-own agreement, registering a caveat is the main protection if the owner's circumstances change. Most people never do it, and an unregistered interest can be wiped out by a foreclosure.
Something missing?
If you hit a term in a Calgary contract, condo package or lender email that is not here, email it to me and I will add it. That is genuinely useful to everyone reading afterwards.
Last updated 2026-08-19 · Written by Mohammad Emon, REALTOR® (SRES®) & Licensed Property Manager, KO Realty · RECA licence LIC-00666633