Canmore Real Estate Market, June 1^st 2015

 

Canmore had 145 closed deals from January to May 2015 as compared to 207 in the same period in 2014. That is a 30% reduction in closed deals compared to last year.

The number of listings on the other hand increased from around 200 in January to 264 in June which is more than we saw during the year 2014.

While the average sales price of apartments was $399,000 in 2014, the average sales price from Jan-May 2015 was $369,000. Remarkable however, that the average price in 2015 increased constantly from 315,000 in January to 433,000 in May. Days on market reduced from 76 in 2014 to 56 in 2015. There is obviously a strong demand with very little supply for lower priced apartments and this drives prices for this kind of product.

While the average sales price of vacation properties was $214,000 in 2014, the average sales price from Jan-May 2015 was $218,000. Remarkable here that the average sales price decreased from March 2015 to May 2015. Days on market increased from 84 in 2014 to 124 in 2015. The number of vacation properties sold from Jan-May 2015 was much lower than during this time last year. Vacation properties are directly affected by the softening of the market.

Detached Homes in 2014 compared to Jan-May 2015 remained almost the same with $879,000 in 2014 and $875,000 in 2015. But prices have softened from March to May and went from $890,000 to $849,000 which could be a reason for more sales and less days on market in 2015 than in the same period last year.

The average sales price for townhomes in 2014 was 571,000 compared to $527,000 for the first 5 months of 2015.  And while Jan-May 2014 saw 53 townhouses sold, Jan-May 2015 only accounted for 33 sales. Days on market decreased from 67 to 58.

My conclusion:

The drop in oil prices in Alberta has these major effects on the Real Estate Market in Canmore:

 

• Buyers who would have bought a vacation home in a strong market are not buying any more.

• Many buyers are in a waiting position, anticipating prices to drop and hoping for a “Great Deal”. Well priced properties are sold immediately which reduces the days on market figures.

• With less people buying, there are more properties in the market which increases the pressure on selling prices.

• With less properties being sold, there is less renting space available increasing the demand from 1^st time home buyers for smaller apartments. 

• Since March prices are starting to soften except for full-time living apartments which are still increasing in price.