spring market preview?

Ben Maize Canmore Realtor

There is a lot of hype about real estate in Canada these days and many people are wondering where the market is going to go this year. With the previous 2 years of heightened sales activity and sellers making big gains, this year could be a turning point...Or it could be totally unremarkable. Rising interest rates have put the squeeze on buyers and low inventory has left homeowners wondering where they would go if they did sell. 

So far in Canmore, sales for the month of March are on pace with pre-pandemic numbers and inventory is consistently low. There have been 19 closings so far at the time of writing and currently 104 active listings on MLS. Of those active listings, the average days spent on market is 71 and sellers…

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2022 Residential real estate statistics

Lack of inventory was the main theme to start off 2022 which continued to push sale prices higher into the spring and early summer. Bank of Canada interest rate hikes, designed to cool off rising inflation would ultimately have a cooling effect on the overheated real estate market as well. Sale prices in Canmore had been testing the upper limits of what buyers were willing to pay for some time and by April/May we saw the peak of the market and then a bit of a pullback in prices as uncertainty crept in around the direction of interest rates. Stories from across the country began to emerge of big price declines but Canmore did not experience such a drastic shift and low inventory persisted for the remainder of the…

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2021 canmore real estate overview

A lot of properties changed hands in Canmore in 2021. In fact the average number of sales for the 3 years prior was 459 and 2021 saw a near 70% increase to 770 units sold. The pandemic changed the way we live, work, recreate and travel - to name a few - and as related restrictions were eased and the economy started to open again Canadians were left with limited options when it came to vacation and travel. Not surprisingly, recreational real estate markets across the country began to sizzle with the average sale price predicted to rise by as much as 30% in some markets. Many Canadian families were able to save more than usual in 2020 and a study conducted on behalf of Re/Max found that 59% of buyers who intended to…

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2020 Canmore Real Estate Year-in-Review

Not much more can be said about 2020 so the purpose of this blog post is to discuss real estate trends in Canmore from the past year while trying to disconnect a bit from the reasons why it played out the way it did.  Looking back at the 2019 Year-in-Review, our prediction for 2020 was that the market would keep moving away from a seller's market and more towards balanced market conditions that didn't favour the buyer or seller.  As the year progressed that actually turned out largely to be the case. Despite all of the outside "noise", buyers and sellers found they were on equal ground and there may have even been a bit of downward pressure on prices.  There was a buildup of inventory prior to the summer and then…

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So, what is the market like now that life is starting to return to normal?

It has been just over 90 days since the government started announcing widespread closures of schools, borders, businesses, recreation facilites, places of worship and parks and playgrounds.  Life came to a grinding halt for the majority of Canadians and given the information we were receiving from the media, it was hard not to worry that a real estate market crash was in the works.  Buyers became incredibly uneasy and scaled back their searches while sellers, equally nervous, either took their properties off the market or implemented screening and sanitizing protocols.  The spring months are a time when we typically see the most new listings hitting the market and buyers are…

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Real Estate Deemed Essential Service

Soon after the government started putting restrictions on the types of business that could operate during the pandemic the real estate industry was deemed to be an essential service.  It's true, regardless of the world's economic/political climate, property owners are always going to need to buy and sell homes because these types of transactions are most often connected with life stages and as such, life tends to continue on.  When Covid-19 started emerging as a serious threat to Canadians in late February, buyers became leery and sellers became extra cautious.  Some took their properties off the market entirely while others took extra steps to protect themselves, their families, and potential buyers.  Some even…

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January-March Home Sales by the Numbers: 

 

2017

2018

2019

2020

Hotel Condo 21 18 9 18
Condo 26  20 20 14
Townhouse 26  19 13 17
Half-Duplex 4 4 11 2
Single Family 22 15 8 11
Building Lots 4 5 0 1

TOTAL

103

81

61

64

Summary

Real estate sales in Canmore and the rest of the Bow Valley got off to a slow start in 2020 with -20 degree temperatures throughout the area.  That being said, when February rolled around and things warmed up a bit it was like "someone flipped on a switch."  New listings were hitting the market regularly and…

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2019 Sales by the Numbers: 

 

2018

2019

% Change

Hotel Condo 89 79 -10%
Condo 133 113 -20%
Townhouse 107 107 0
Half-Duplex 35 44 +10%
Single Family 87 89 +2%
Building Lots 13 10 -3%

TOTAL

467

446

-4.5%

 

Breakdown by Property Type:

Hotel Condos

10% fewer Canmore hotel condos changed hands in 2019 than the year prior but this segment still accounted for 17.7% of total home sales.  Demand for these units remains strong but a lack of "good" listings coming to market has hampered buyers.  The general consensus among owners seemed to be that they felt this "wasn't…

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2019 2nd Quarter Real Estate Market Summary

April - June 30 Sales by the Numbers:

 

2017

2018

2019

Hotel Condo 27 26 17  (-35%)
Condo 27 52 32  (-42%)
Townhouse 39  25 31  (+24%)
Half-Duplex 12 12 9    (-25%)
Single Family 20 22 14  (-36%)
Building Lots 1 4 3    (-25%)

TOTAL

131

143

107 (-25%)

 

 

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Best time to buy a home in Canmore?

One of the most frequent questions we get asked by prospective buyers in Canmore is: when is it a good time to buy?  The truth is that there is no easy answer to this, and it often comes down to the needs and motives of each buyer.  The market does fluctuate and there are some more favourable times.  Canmore’s real estate market does not follow the typical seasonal trends of most areas, and as such it can be hard to predict for those coming into town and wanting to buy a property but avoid certain aspects of a seller’s market.  Using an experienced Canmore real estate agent can help buyers navigate supply and demand.

Buying to live in Canmore

If you’re looking to make the Bow Valley your permanent home, there…

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