Buyers Find Bargains in Canmore Real Estate:
The Canadian Real Estate Association CREA predicted that the first half of the year would net fewer transactions than historical averages in the face of policy changes implemented by the Canadian government. On a nationwide level, sales for March, April and May reached a 9-year low and home prices in Alberta are expected to fall 1% this year. There is evidence however, that the market in Canmore is at the beginning stages of a possible 3rd quarter rally. The month of May saw a 45% decrease in the number of real estate sales whereas June's numbers were a little more uplifting being down only 32% from 2017's tally.
Almost all of the additional sales from May to June are residentially zoned condos that continue to sell for close to asking price. Sales of hotel condos made up for the rest of the month-to-month gains as these units continue to fly off the shelves at a blistering pace. In fact, average days on market drastically decreased from 38.6 to 20.6 and while this number may not sound low, days-on-market is calculated to include the period after an offer gets accepted and conditions are being met. This condition period is often around 2 weeks so if the average days on market is 20.6, it means that the property was actually more likely sold, on average, around the 6.6 day mark.
Year to year comparison to 2017 numbers provides quite a clear picture of the effects of the new mortgage rules, highlighting the sectors of the market that have been hit the hardest. Single family home sales in June of 2017 resulted in 13 houses changing owners compared to only 4 houses selling in June of 2018. This near 70% drop in Canmore homes sold has caused a slight buildup of excess inventory in the single family homes market. Currently, there are 46 houses for sale out of 184 total active listings on the market. Of those 46 homes for sale, the average days on market at the time of writing this article was 101.6 days - nearly 5 times higher than the amount of time it takes to sell a vacation condo.
The other segment of the market to be hit hard is the townhome sector, accounting for a virtually identical 70% decrease in the number of units sold. Presently, there are 40 active townhome listings on MLS with an average time of 94.1 days on the market so far in this normally popular segment.
For buyers this presents a unique opportunity that does not come around very often in the ultra competitive Canmore real estate market: bargaining power! For those of you willing to "test the waters" by writing an offer on one of these lingering properties that have been on the market for a while, you might just walk away with a better deal than was previously thought possible. The only caveat: You will never know if you don't try!
June Sales Breakdown:
Total Sales: 41
Vacation Condos:
Number of Sales - 8
Average Sale Price - $409,880
Average Days on Market - 20.6
Average Sale Price to List Price Ratio - 100.2%
Condos:
Number of Sales - 17
Average Sale Price - $516,480
Average Days on Market - 35.1
Average Sale Price to List Price Ratio - 98.9%
Townhomes:
Number of Sales - 4
Average Sale Price - $640,000
Average Days on Market - 26.75
Average Sale Price to List Price Ratio - 98.4%
Half-Duplex:
Number of Sales - 6
Average Sale Price - $1,140,000
Average Days on Market - 120
Average Sale Price to List Price Ratio - 99.2%
Single Family Homes:
Number of Sales - 5
Average Sale Price - $884,000
Average Days on Market - 70.5
Average Sale Price to List Price Ratio - 94.4%
Hottest 'Hood:
1. Bow Valley Trail (29% of June sales)
2. Three Sisters Mountain Village
3. Downtown
contact the team at Canmore.net online or call (587) 579-9500
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