By Josh Methot & Art Leslie, Art Leslie & Josh Methot Real Estate. Updated July 2026.
Most of our business is helping families buy and sell homes in Calgary’s inner city. But there’s a second side to our work that few agents offer: land. We’ve done dozens and dozens of land deals, lot assemblies, and builder project sales over the years, and most of them never touched the MLS. At any given time, we have at least a dozen builders and land buyers actively looking for property through us. If you build in the inner city, or you own land a builder might want, this page explains how it works.
Two Deals That Show How We Work
The 33rd Avenue assembly, Marda Loop. Art door-knocked three homeowners with bungalows sitting side by side on 33rd. Over a series of conversations, he put together a three-lot assembly and sold it to a developer. A condo building now stands on that corner of Marda Loop. No listing ever hit the MLS.
Two AAA lots, Rutland Park, this year. Two side-by-side lots, sold to one builder above market value, essentially the same day we marketed them privately. No showings, no sign on the lawn, no MLS listing, no brain damage for the sellers. That’s what an off-market sale looks like when there’s a lineup of qualified buyers already waiting.
Where Our Land Comes From
Off-market deals don’t come from software. Ours come from a decade of relationships: our past-client database, referrals from the real estate lawyers we work with, old-fashioned door-knocking, and constant conversations with builders and developers about what they’re hunting for next. This is genuinely what Art loves to do. When a long-time owner starts thinking about selling the original bungalow, we tend to hear about it before anyone else does.
The Rezoning Reset: What Changes August 4, 2026
If you build in Calgary, this is the story of the moment. When citywide rezoning arrived in 2024, it set off a genuine gold rush on inner-city lots. Corner lots used to be the only parcels that traded at a real premium, because a corner was your path to townhomes on a 50 x 120. Once H-GO and the new R-CG rules came in, mid-block townhomes and fourplexes were suddenly getting approved quickly, and for two years builders raced to buy mid-block lots that had never been development plays before. Add MLI Select financing from CMHC for multi-family projects, and whole streetscapes changed. In the inner city, no community was reshaped more than Killarney.
That era is ending. Council voted in April 2026 to repeal citywide rezoning, effective August 4, 2026, with R-CG parcels dropping from four units to three and mid-block townhome opportunities largely disappearing. Projects with approved permits, and applications already in before the deadline, keep their rights.
What we expect next: corner lots and traditional building lots return to premium status, because the mid-block path is closing. And for any specific parcel, we work with architects and land-use consultants who can assess realistically what a lot could still be approved for. If you’re holding a lot and wondering what the repeal means for its value, that’s a conversation worth having this month, not next year.
The Market Right Now: Our Honest Read
- Bungalows are the hottest product we sell. Well-built bungalows over 1,200 square feet, with vaulted ceilings and a triple garage in a great location, are drawing serious premiums. The buyer is the aging-in-place boomer with money and no interest in stairs, and there are far more of them than there are homes like this.
- Luxury detached is next. With prices high and inventory low, we expect a real run on new luxury detached builds in Calgary’s inner city over the coming years.
- Land pricing: We don’t publish per-front-foot numbers because every lot is different: block, orientation, grade, trees, what’s beside it. Call us and we’ll give you a rough estimate on any specific parcel, plus or minus, usually on the spot.
Selling Your Finished Product
Because we sell infills and new builds to end buyers every week, our design feedback is grounded in what actually moves homes, and tastes shift every year. Our reviews of your floor plans and finishes focus on ROI: overspending on small fixtures rarely pays, but great plumbing fixtures and great lighting genuinely move buyers. The table stakes are non-negotiable: a well-built home where the fit and finish holds up. No misjoined corners, no messy caulking, everything plumb, flush, and aligned. Buyers at these price points notice, and so do we, before they ever walk through.
Our Bar for Builders
We’ll be straight: we don’t work with every builder, and there are builders in this city we won’t work with. When we bring an off-market lot to our list, we’re putting our sellers and our reputation on the line, so we look for three things:
- Integrity. You do what you say you’ll do.
- Quality. Your past projects hold up, and resell well.
- Ability to close. On land, the strongest offer is cash with no terms or conditions. There’s no point inspecting a house that’s coming down. Sometimes a financing condition is workable, but certainty of close is what wins you the next deal too.
The Off-Market Builder Registry
When a lot or assembly comes to us before it’s listed, our registry sees it first. There’s no cost and no volume commitment. If you meet the bar above and you’re ready to move when the right parcel shows up, ask us about joining.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many of your land deals happen off the MLS?
Most of them. Private sales are the norm for our land work, which is exactly why sellers and builders both come to us: sellers get a clean, quiet sale at a strong price, and builders get first look at parcels the open market never sees.
What does a lot assembly actually involve?
Patience, mostly. We identify the parcels, approach each owner privately, and negotiate terms that let the deal close together. The 33rd Avenue assembly in Marda Loop started with Art knocking on three doors. Some assemblies come together in weeks, others take a year of quiet conversations. Discretion protects everyone’s price.
What does the 2026 rezoning repeal mean for my lot?
It depends entirely on the parcel. Broadly: mid-block development rights shrink after August 4, 2026, R-CG drops from four units to three, and corner and traditional building lots regain their premium. If you hold a permit or submitted an application in time, you may be exempt. Call us and we’ll give you a straight read, and bring in our architect and land-use contacts if the answer needs more than a phone call.
What does this cost me as a builder?
On acquisitions, we’re typically paid through the transaction like any purchase. On your finished product, our terms are negotiable and built around the whole relationship: if you bought the land with us, or we’re selling multiple homes for you, that’s reflected in the rate. Sit down with us and we’ll walk through exactly how the numbers work for your project.
What do landowners miss most when pricing a lot?
Utilities. A telephone pole in the back alley, overhead lines across the front, a light post, a fire hydrant, even a power pumping station: we have seen all of them on inner-city properties, and every one can affect the deal or the price. Moving poles costs real money, and multiple poles in the back alley can get very expensive because they dictate where a garage can go. Builders price this in immediately. Sellers rarely see it coming. It’s one of the first things we check when we walk a lot.
I own an older home on a big lot. Is it worth more to a builder?
Quite possibly, and after the rezoning repeal, corner lots especially. If your home sits on a full-width lot in an active infill community, builders may pay a premium for the land regardless of the house’s condition. Start with a free evaluation and we’ll tell you honestly whether your property is a land play or a family-home sale. It’s not always the builder.
About Art & Josh
Art Leslie and Josh Methot lead one of Calgary’s top inner-city real estate teams, ranked in the top 2% of eXp Realty worldwide. We’ve completed dozens of land acquisitions, assemblies, and builder project sales, most of them off-market, alongside the 75 or so families we help buy and sell every year. Meet the team. You can also explore the communities we work in through our community guides.
Building in the inner city, holding a lot, or thinking about either? Call us at 403-288-9449, or text Josh at or Art at 403-404-3730. Let’s talk about your next project.