With the first snowfall of the season behind us, we can now get back to all of our regular fall activities. The Bow Valley real estate market is in the midst of the fall selling season and things are stabilizing. The number of active listings has declined slightly month over month and as expected, September sales were up over August.
There are currently 272 active listings of properties for sale, down from 280 this time last month. However, year over year inventory levels have climbed 33% from 205 in 2018. This higher level of active properties for sales has allowed buyers to have more choice especially in the higher end of the market. Sales have remained constant year over year as we have transitioned into a more balanced market. Price growth has slowed and is restricted to only certain segments of the market with very low inventory levels. Currently 1/3 of active MLS listings in Canmore are in Three Sisters; this includes both resale and some but not all new construction. This area of Canmore only accounted for 24% of sales last month. Whereas the older communities in the Valley bottom accounted for 11% of sales and only 15% of active listings.
Third quarter sales for 2019 were strong with 159 sales; up from 148 in Q3 2018. Sales were down from Q2 2019 which is typical of the seasonal cycle. The biggest year over year change was an increase in sales of detached / semi-detached homes and hotel condo properties.
Detached / Semi-Detached Homes Q3 2019: Average Sale Price $1,062,831 & Median Sale Price $922,000 (Median price increase of 1% year over year)
Townhouse Condominium Q3 2019: Average Sale Price $639,972 & Median Sale Price $600,000 (Median price increase of 3.3% year over year)
Apartment Condominium Q3 2019: Average Sale Price $510,411 & Median Sale Price $447,900 (Median price decrease of 8% year over year)
Vacant Lot Q3 2019: Average Sale Price $962,667 & Median Sale Price $787,000 (Median price unchanged year over year)
Hotel Condominium Short Term Rental Q3 2019: Average Sale Price $381,905 & Median Sale Price $392,700
Transitioning into the remainder of the fall market and early winter market, sales will start to decline as we approach December. We expect to see more listings coming to market until early November and inventory begin to recede moving into winter.
