February 2022 Market Snapshot
The spring market is around the corner, and we are starting to see more new listing coming to the market. From a casual observation, it would seem that there is very little on the market; this is true for our standing inventory of properties for sale in the Bow Valley. In January, there were 54 new listings that came to market, which is a decent amount of supply for what is typically our slowest month of the year. Because of the low standing inventory, in most cases there is incredible demand for these newly listed properties. Multiple offers are the norm in the current real estate market, and this is a consideration for both buyers and sellers.
As a seller, coming to market with exceptional exposure is key. Great photos, a virtual tour, and local, national, and international marketing is what sets you up for a successful sale. This exposure will allow you to generate as much possible interest in your home and ideally generate multiple offers. Pricing is another consideration; this is a market of supply and demand. Establishing a price which will generate multiple offers rather than aiming too high and scaring off potential buyers is a very good strategy. Because of the high numbers of buyers looking for a home, supply and demand will determine your sale price. Being ready to sell, we are encouraging our clients to have a number of items ready before selling. A full set of condominium documents, a pre-listing property inspection, examples of monthly utility costs and a list of any furnishings that you would be interested in selling. By having all these documents ready for a buyer to review, we can generate offers with few to no conditions.
As a buyer, this can be a challenging time. You should speak with your lender about financing and how quickly approvals can be completed. If the condominium documents and inspections are available review them prior to making an offer. In many cases, we are seeing properties listed with a couple of days of showings available and all offers to be submitted at a specific time; decide if you are comfortable making an offer after a virtual showing or are you ready to make the trip to Canmore. Having a real estate professional who can guide you on terms and clauses to be a successful bidder is key.
When looking at our active standing inventory, residential listings are down 69% year over year to 39 active listings. The short term rental market currently has 36 active listings which is on par with February 2021. January sales were down from 2021 to 57 sales; this lower sales volume is due primarily to the lack of active inventory; the five-year average for January is 43 sales.
With the strong demand, there have been some significant increases in value over the past year. For two of the past three months, townhouse median prices have been above $1,000,000. Detached and semi-detached home prices below $2,000,000 have undergone significant price growth with a median price in January of $1,448,000.
Over the next few months, we don’t foresee a significant softening in demand. There are a couple of factors contributing to this: record low standing inventory levels and strong interprovincial and international demand. There needs to be a significant influx of new inventory to meet buyer demand or a dramatic shift in the national real estate market before the current market conditions change.
