Buying a house in Calgary in winter: what to check

The short answer

When buying a house in Calgary in winter, check which way the front faces, whether the driveway and front steps are in shade at midday, and where melt water refreezes after a chinook. The community matters too: in LandMood's model, Calgary communities built since 2000 get a median of about 2 hours of direct sun on December 21 along their residential streets, while in 11 of 18 inner-city communities the median is under half an hour (typical year, 2016–2025).

To see a specific home rather than a whole community, place it on the free map: it shows that home's front yard, back yard and driveway month by month.

Why a winter viewing tells you more

From November to February the sun at noon is only about 15° above the horizon in Calgary, so a house throws a shadow about four times its own height toward the north. In a sample of 149 Calgary homes in LandMood's model, the median north-facing front yard got 0.2 hours of direct sun on December 21 and the median south-facing front yard 3.3 hours. The back yards were the mirror image: 5.2 hours behind north-facing homes, 0.7 hours behind south-facing ones.

A north-facing home is not a bad buy; its back yard is more likely to get the winter sun. It just means the driveway and front steps are the shady part of the lot. North-facing vs south-facing houses explains the trade-off.

Chinooks: melt, then refreeze

Calgary's chinooks can melt snow in the middle of winter. On sunny ground it often goes for good; on a shaded driveway, walk or set of steps the melt water can freeze again overnight. That is why the shady side of a Calgary lot is worth a close look at a viewing: look for ice at the bottom of the driveway, by the steps and where downspouts empty. See north-facing driveways: snow and ice.

Pick the community, then the street

Winter sun differs between Calgary communities, and in our model it follows the age of the community. Inner-city communities such as Roxboro, Elbow Park and Mount Pleasant, with mature trees and closely spaced homes, are near the bottom of our ranking; newer suburbs such as Saddle Ridge, Evanston and Taradale are near the top. Neither list says where to live; it says what winter looks like there. See all 133 in the Calgary winter sun ranking, and each one's own page for its snow and spring melt.

Within any community, two homes on the same street can differ more than two communities do. Even in most of the sunniest communities, roughly a quarter to a third of the ground along residential streets gets under half an hour of sun on December 21.

What to check at the viewing

• Which way the front of the house faces, and which side the driveway is on.
• Whether the driveway, walk and front steps are in shade around midday.
• Where snow has been piled, and whether it is blocking a window well, a vent or a downspout.
• Where melt water has stood or refrozen: icy patches at the bottom of the driveway or by the steps.
• Where the downspouts empty, and whether the ground slopes away from the house.
• On a hillside, which way the slope faces: north-facing slopes get far less winter sun. See houses on a slope or near the river.

The full room-by-room list is in the winter house-hunting checklist.

Snow and spring melt

Snow follows the sun. In our model, the Calgary communities with the least December sun are near the top for snow still on the ground in March. On a single lot it works the same way. In spring, melt water runs to the low spots: ask where water stands after the thaw and look at the yard's slope. If a home is near the Bow or Elbow, also look at the city's flood maps.

Questions to ask the sellers

• Which part of the driveway and walk ices up after a chinook, and how often does it need salt or chipping?
• Where does water collect in spring, and has it ever come into the basement?
• Have the downspouts or the grading around the house been changed?

Check the home itself

The community numbers describe streets, not a house. Before you make an offer, put the home on the free map, look at its front and back yard through the winter months, and compare it with the other homes on your list.