Posts Tagged ‘Canmore mls’

Canmore real estate for August was yet another month of consistent sales throughout town with a total of 26 properties selling this month.  Read the rest of this entry »

Another month is in the books for Canmore real estate and again we had a consistent month of sales in town even with what I perceived to be a quieter month for showing activity. Read the rest of this entry »

Boxes, Boxes and more Boxes

Over the last few years I’ve helped numerous clients sell and purchase homes in Canmore.  Throughout the sales process I help them organize their affairs that relate to the transaction such as property inspections, condominium document reviews, marketing the property on-line, showing the home and numerous other services.

When I was in the hotel business I’d organize my departments to run efficiently and effectively.  To ensure the hotel stayed ahead of it’s competition I’d go to other hotel’s and restaurants to experience for myself the services and quality of product they offered.  By immersing myself in new experiences I found I became a better manager and leader and the hotel became a better property.

Why do I bring up my previous career? well, I’m currently experiencing a side of the real estate business that all my clients go through, that I’ve never really thought of before – packing and the actual move itself.

I’ve lived in the same home in Canmore for the past 7 years and when we moved in to our current home the Hotel chain I was working for at the time paid for the moving company to pack and move all our personal property, so I haven’t experienced ‘the move’ in a good 10 years.

When I help clients sell or purchase a property I rarely, if ever, think of the stress that the actual move brings.  I understand the stress of the transaction – negotiating a price, working through the conditions, finding financing and the nail-biting tension of a Seller when waiting to see if a Buyer will remove the conditions.  I see that stress and work through it with clients daily.  I don’t necessarily see the stress that comes with packing boxes, organizing moving vans, calling all the utility companies, ensuring you have the right insurance, finding boxes large enough to fit your possessions in (this is big one for us!) and living with the mounds of boxes in the house while preparing to move.

Well, all that is currently changing, last week we sold our home and bought a new one.  A few days after all the deals had gone unconditional my wife took the boys on a 10 day vacation to see her family in Ontario – a vacation that was planned a long time in advance of us even thinking about selling or purchasing a home.  When my wife returns from vacation we have exactly 5 days before we move, so most of the packing and all the above list has fallen on my shoulders, much to my wife’s discomfort. My wife has always been the better organizer in the family and is more than a little worried that nothing will be done when she returns from vacation.

Experiencing how stressful the actual move can be for people is something I think as Realtor’s we tend to forget, we all know that purchasing a property is a stressful experience because it tends to be the largest financial purchase we make in our lifetime, but we hear little about how stressful the organization and execution of the actual move is on a person, couple or family.

I have 11 days of packing and organization left before we move in to our new home, which in the long run is going to decrease our stress as a family as we have twice the room we have now, which is good for everyone. But, for the next 11 days I’ll try and remember all the experiences I go through so I can keep them fresh in my mind so when my clients are going through the same stressful situation I can better relate to them and help them further through a very tough few weeks.

Moving house is so much more than the transaction of purchasing or selling a property and just as I sought out experiences to help me become a better manager and leader in the hotel business this experience is certainly going to make me a better and more compassionate Realtor.

The View from Silver Creek Lodge

Canmore real estate sales in April were slower than March and the real estate market in May continued the trend of slowing down.  In April we sold 33 properties in Canmore and in May we ended the month with 26 sales.  The first week of May was a strong week of activity, mostly carried over from April and as the month progressed activity in the Canmore real estate market slowed significantly.  The breakdown of property that sold in Canmore in May is as follows:

Apartments sold: 4 at an average square foot price of $350

Four Plex sold: 2 at an average square foot price of $343

Town Homes: 5 sold at an average square foot price of $370

Half Duplex: 1 sold at an average square foot price of $348

Single Family Homes: 11 sold at an average square foot price of $423

Recreational Condos: 3 sold at an average square foot price of $326

Our active listings on the Canmore real estate market increased significantly this past month too and we are now back up to 385 active listings as of June 1st.  Pricing is still the key strategy for Seller’s, if the property is perceived to be priced correctly in the market by Buyer’s the property receives attention, if the property is perceived by Buyer’s as too high showings are typically slower.

As we move into June in Canmore we are hoping for two scenario’s to change.  First we need the weather to improve so that more people want to spend time in the mountains and secondly, if the weather improves we are hoping it brings our Canmore real estate market activity back up to the levels we saw in March and April.  We currently have 12 conditional sales as we move into June which is another strong start to a month.

Canmore Real Estate

Canmore real estate sales in April dropped from that of March 2010 although we still had a very healthy month in town.  The first two weeks of April started off very well with properties that had gone conditional at the end of March turning to firm sales within the first couple of weeks.  Showing activity remained strong through most of the month although dropped off a little in the last two weeks of the month.

The total number of sales in the Canmore real estate market for the month of April was 33 homes sold.  The Canmore properties that were sold in April were in the following categories:

Apartments = 8 sold at an average square foot price of $355

Half Duplexes = 2 sold at an average square foot price of $528

Lots / land = 2 sold

Recreational Property = 2 sold at an average square foot price of $307

Singe Family Homes = 10 sold at an average square foot price of $461

Town Homes = 8 sold at an average square foot price of $364

The average selling price for Canmore real estate in the month of April was $566, 701 which equaled $400 a square foot.  The square foot price for a property in Canmore has held strong in the $400 a square foot range now for several months and although a crude measurement for the price of property gives an indication of what Buyer’s are willing to pay in the market at this time.

At the time of this post on May 2nd the Conditional listings in Canmore real estate market total 9 for the first 2 days of the month and it’s too early at this stage of the month to hazard a guess as to how our month may shape up, although given the activity of sales in the last two weeks of April it doesn’t seem to show that the new mortgage rules that came in to effect April 19th have had much of an impact on the current market.

If you have any questions of comments on the Canmore real estate market please leave them on this post below or contact me directly.