CALGARY — It is a testament of Calgary’s booming luxury home market.

Recently it took only a couple of days for a home in the upscale Britannia neighbourhood to sell for $6 million as multiple bids upped the price by $1 million from what it was originally listed, making it the third highest-ever MLS sale in the city, the Herald has learned.

The custom-built home, in a private ridge setting, was listed and sold by Rooney Cronin + Valentine of RE/MAX Real Estate Central. Sue Anne Valentine was the listing agent and Donna Rooney was the buyer’s agent.

The two-storey plus sandstone estate property has over 10,000 square feet of development with a third level observatory loft and an elevator.

According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, the top two MLS sales ever in Calgary are for $10.5 million in Elbow Park/Glencoe in August 2009 and $8 million in Crescent Heights in June 2008.

Valentine and Rooney were also the listing agents on the record sale in 2009 of the $10.5 million property formerly owned by former Calgary Flames goaltender Mike Vernon.

Bob Jablonski, president of the Calgary Real Estate Board, said the recent luxury home sale is indicating plenty of confidence by the consumer in today’s stability in the economy.

“This buyer bought it obviously before the (provincial) election results came out. So if you can imagine spending $6 million before the election comes out when supposedly everyone is worried about what’s going to happen. It shows great confidence by the consumer and he bought it in a neighbourhood that is well-established and a very desirable neighbourhood,� said Jablonski. “So that tells me they’re OK with the world.�

Jablonski said the energy sector is doing well in the province, the economy is leading the country and people are confident in making big purchases in the real estate market because they plan on staying in the province and they believe it’s a good investment.

Year-to-date until April 22, CREB said there have been 148 sales in the city over $1 million. Last year for the same period, there were 136 sales in that price category.

“Resale activity in Calgary has been improving and is giving some existing homeowners an opportunity to sell their home and trade-up into something larger,� said Richard Cho, senior market analyst in Calgary for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. “Some prospective buyers have also benefited from higher wages, bonuses and favourable mortgage rates, supporting demand for luxury homes.�

Mike Fotiou, associate broker with First Place Realty, said Calgarians are regaining their optimism. An example of that is that Alberta’s small business owners lead the country in confidence according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

“Average weekly earnings and employment growth for Alberta continues to top all of Canada while the unemployment rate in Calgary fell to 5.1 per cent,� said Fotiou. “This has translated into increased sales in not only the luxury segment, but the overall residential market as well.�