Veteran Real Estate Broker Sees Strength and Value in Calgary Market

George Bamber has seen the highs and lows during his 35-year career

In 35-plus years in Calgary’s real estate industry, George Bamber has witnessed market highs, market lows … and everything in between.

With three decades of business experience and customer trust, George Bamber, the owner/broker of Century 21 Bamber Realty, is confident in the continued strength of Calgary and Alberta’s economy. “Calgary real estate has been undervalued for so long and while we may see a bit of a dip in momentum after coming off a record sales year, the strength of Alberta — especially in oil and gas and with continued diversification — is going to mean net in-migration. Alberta is going to be the place to be.”

Bamber expects his real estate company — the largest Century 21 office in Alberta and one of Canada’s largest in overall volume — to continue to grow substantially in 2022. In the first three months of this year, his office had 1,000 sales throughout the Calgary region, including Springbank, Bragg Creek, Okotoks and Airdrie, for homes from $130,000 to $8 million. In 2021, Bamber Realty had 2,800 sales with a value of $1.6 billion.

While increasing interest rates may take some potential homebuyers out of the market to save more money before buying a home or to look for a potential dip in prices, Bamber says Calgary continues to be an affordable place to buy, especially in the apartment condo realm where prices in many cases are below replacement value. He is hoping this year for a more balanced market that will be good for both buyers and sellers as opposed to 2021, where there were often multiple bids on a limited amount of inventory.

“Hopefully it will be a year when buyers don’t have to purchase the first home they see,” says Bamber. “Buyers are doing their research online and through various social media tools prior to engaging with a professional realtor,” says Bamber. “At that point, it gets down to our expert knowledge and professionalism from start to finish.” It’s important to have an experienced agent who can move as quickly as the market by using all their professional tools, from on-the-spot market evaluations to constant communication, negotiating competing offers and taking a buyer or seller to agreement completion, he adds. 

In more than three decades, Bamber Realty has grown while retaining its community roots. It’s still at its original 17th Avenue S.W. location — even with the same phone number. And that community connection sees individual real estate agents supporting multiple local charities while Bamber Realty’s major initiative involves Century 21’s commitment to Easter Seals, helping Calgary children with disabilities attend Camp Horizon. 

To learn more about Bamber Realty, check out bamberrealty.c21.ca.

Posted on the Calgary Herald