December 2022 Real Estate News | Canmore & Banff
Winter is here in the Bow Valley and it is sure starting to feel like the holiday season! Be sure to see the CP Holiday Train as it comes through Banff and Canmore on the 13th, visit In Search of Christmas Spirit at Cascade Gardens in Banff or check out The Rotary Festival of Trees at the Malcolm Hotel to get yourself into the Holiday mood.
We are transitioning into the winter real estate market in the Bow Valley for the next few months. There are opportunities for both buyers and sellers in these slower months. As there are fewer homes on the market, this is the opportunity for someone considering selling to potentially beat a spring rush of new inventory. As a buyer, there are fewer buyers in the market through the winter and you will potentially have more negotiating power. Traditionally, Canmore and the Bow Valley have had a seasonal real estate market and we seem to be moving back to that direction. While rising interest rates, economic pressure, and other uncertainties have resulted in lower year over year sales, we need to remember that 2020 to mid-2022 were not the norm. Overall sales in November were 21% higher than the five year average while overall active listings are 31% below the five year average.
When we break the segments of the market down between residential and short term rental use properties there has definitely been a year over year shift. Residential sales have decreased year over year from 39 to 28 sales in November but increased month over month from 22 sales in October. Active residential listings have increased year over year from 53 to 98 and decreased from last month by 15 listings.
The short term rental market of Tourist Homes and Visitor Accommodation units had another new project launched and sold this month. Skyridge in Harvie Heights had 51 of the 59 short term rental sales last month. Active listings in the short term rental market are down from 53 last December and 41 last month to 22 properties currently on the market.
Prices have softened from their peak earlier this year however it is impossible to paint the whole market with one broad stroke. There are certainly some properties that have seen very little movement is term of price compared to nine months ago, while others are down a few percent. As a seller when determining your fair market value, it is important to look at the sales within the past six to eight weeks. For our buyer clients, again we want to look at the sales within the past few weeks compared to earlier this year and establish trends in term of pricing and negotiating tactics.
Active listing will most likely continue to decrease over the next six weeks. We don’t anticipate inventory levels as low as last January when there were only 75 total listings on the market.
