ROCKIES REALTY BANFF/CANMORE

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1 ROCKIES REALTY BANFF/CANMORE YEAR END REAL ESTATE NEWS 2013 I WELCOME YOUR REFERRALS Personal Perspective of the Year 2013 Page 1 Three Sisters Mountain Village Page 2 Summary of Sales Activity Page 2 Average House Prices by District Page 4 Desirability and Availability (Location Location) Page 5 Forecasting Canmore Real Estate 2014 Page 7 Happy New Year to you and your families and I wish you all, health, happiness, peace and prosperity in 2014! PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE YEAR 2013 The year 2013 will be forever remembered as the year of the Great Flood, as it touched all our lives in one way or another. I want to thank the many volunteers that lent their hand in the evacuation of my elderly parents and the clean-up of where they live. Although for us everything has been rebuilt, the effects of the flood are still being felt, as many of us continue to deal with insurance companies and Alberta Disaster Relief Fund, in our attempts at recovering some of our losses. I am not certain who coined the phrase The Spirit of the West, but it truly was evident all over Southern Alberta during this difficult time. My hat goes off to the people of Calgary for their amazing feat of not cancelling The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. When the flood first occurred I was under the impression our rebounding real estate market would once again suffer as a result. I couldn t have been more wrong as I watched our Main Street foot and vehicle traffic increase some 25% over previous years. Weekdays during the summer, the downtown area was a

2 hub of activity like long weekends and our real estate market continued to gain momentum in leaps and bounds. This year has brought new meaning to the phrases any advertising is good advertising and the show must go on. Three Sisters Mountain Village This year one of Canmore s key developments, Three Sisters Mountain Village, was purchased out of receivership by its previous owners, Don Taylor and Blair Richardson. Of the original 4000 acres, roughly 1500 remain undeveloped and after 5 years of being in receivership limbo, this development will again become an asset to the local economy. It will be exciting to see the project move forward. SUMMARY OF SALES ACTIVITY 2013 Canmore finished off 2013 with the average price of a single family home up to $857,322 with a median price of $740,000. Half duplexes and townhouse style averaged at $598,192 and condominiums at $383,776. The prices of lots averaged $656,731 and hotel/condo style ended at $174,630. Sales of properties priced in excess of $900,000, contributed to 13% of the total sales volume, and properties priced between $400,000 to $900,000 constituted the bulk of sales activity, at just over 51%. $1,500,000 AVERAGE CANMORE HOUSING SALES $1,000,000 $500,000 $0 2 P a g e

3 $1,000,000 MEDIAN $800,000 $600,000 $400,000 $200,000 $0 Most promising and impressive of our statistics for 2013, was the increase in overall sales activity in all categories of housing, ending the year with 104% increase over By September 30th of this year we had sold a total of 331 units, with a 21% increase over the previous year. When I first looked at the numbers, I thought my calculator was not working, however, checking the numbers again, it was correct. Sales, from all real estate companies, worked out to 37 units sold per month to the end of September. The last three months of 2013 saw this number jump to 62 units sold per month. Average days on market were down slightly to 125 days. NUMBER OF UNITS SOLD PER YEAR HOTEL/RECREATIONAL 3 P a g e

4 250 AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET HOTEL/RECREATIONAL The total dollar value of Canmore real estate sales ended the year at $286,107,000 worth of real estate that changed hands, up roughly 42% from the previous year s transactions. It appears the class of housing that experienced the largest decline during the recession, hotel/condo, rebounded at an incredible 358% increase in the number of units sold this past year and this does not reflect the number of units sold directly through developers. Average House Prices by District In the following chart I have broken out the various districts of Canmore and provided the average pricing for the different categories of housing. The Hotel/Condo style is not included in this chart. Single Family Duplex/Town Condo/Apt. Lot Avens/Canyon Close/Riverstone $645,217 $510, Benchlands $960,000 $490, $507,450 Bow Valley Trail $299,900 $238, Canyon Ridge $1,023, Cougar Creek/Cougar Point $646,220 $418,345 $300,800 $378,000 Eagle Terrace $910,081 $591,857 $587, Elk Run $265, P a g e

5 Grotto Mountain Village/Glacier $367,500 $318, Homesteads/Rundleview $922,800 $505, $731,250 Hospital Hill $485,000 $640, $400,000 Lions Park/Larch $763,071 $400, Peaks of Grassi/Quarry Pines $531,039 $492,562 $460,133 $520,000 Prospect Heights $1,925,000 $850, $2,000,000 Silvertip $1,800,454 $928,500 $641,166 $793,750 South Canmore/Railway Avenue $836,433 $603,351 $342,472 $642,928 Spring Creek Mountain Village $648,000 $1,014,475 $688, Teepee Town $493,800 $495, $425,000 Three Sisters Mountain Village $874,656 $564,696 $409,637 $575,000 These numbers and increases would certainly indicate we are heading back into seller market conditions. In my third quarter newsletter, I reported our inventory levels had declined by roughly 55% from recessionary highs. By the end of 2013, Canmore had a total of 164 active listings from all local real estate companies and in all classes of housing. By comparison, recession highs were at roughly 450 units. In 2007/2008, when Canmore experienced double digit price increases and a great number of multiple offer situations, our inventory levels fluctuated between roughly active listings. NUMBER OF UNITS SOLD PER YEAR % Change % % % % HOTEL/RECREATIONAL % DESIRABILITY AND AVAILABILITY (LOCATION LOCATION) In my previous newsletter I discussed the area s real estate desirability and availability. These are the two key factors contributing to higher prices in real estate, and it is not sellers and real estate agents who set the standard for price, buyers do. This past year Canmore hit a new high for the price of a single family lot, selling at $2 million and overlooking the Bow River in Prospect Heights, purchased in 5 P a g e

6 2005 for $1.1 million. There are not many places one could invest $1 million and garner an 82% ROI in eight years, this during a significant global recession. Many would think who would pay such a price for only a piece of land with no home? One of Canada s most expensive lots on Marine Drive in Vancouver sold this past year for $12 million and the outdated mansion that sits on the property is scheduled for demolition. According to a Forbes article on the world s most expensive real estate markets, nowhere in Canada was mentioned. Therefore, one would assume on a global scale, our prices remain affordable. The Forbes article suggests the world s billionaires have been on a spending spree the past seven years, focusing primarily on global high end urban markets, where they would be close to business, rather than on leisure property. The article also suggests that billionaires have exhausted buying real estate in traditional locations, such as Hong Kong, London, and New York, where desirability is high and availability low, thus commanding prices in excess of $13,000 per square foot. It continues to say, they may change their investment motivation to income generating real estate assets in other locales and by way of rental income, such as recreational use properties in tourist locations. In Canmore, the tourist home became an important part of our economic landscape a decade or more ago. Many of our non-permanent residence (37% of population), discovered the potential income generated from weekly and monthly rentals, for as high as $10,000 per month. This trend actually began back in 1988 when many locals opted to rent their homes to accommodate Olympians and Media at what was considered at the time, astronomical rents of $10,000 per week. The Forbes article exemplifies what price buyers are prepared to pay for real estate when the location is right and the supply is minimal. Canmore s market more closely resembles Zermatt, which is also restricted from growth and hemmed in by the Alps. There prices range from $ $2500 per square foot and foreigners are offered 1500 property draws annually, with restrictions as to size. Canmore s overall median price per square foot, for 2013, was a modest $380 to $450 by comparison. It is unlikely we will see Zermatt pricing in Canmore in the near future, given the size of the European market by comparison to North America, however, upward 6 P a g e

7 movement of pricing should continue. Whistler is already at build-out with future development restricted, average prices are in the range of $631 with Vail prices ranging from $435 - $1500 per square foot. $ AVERAGE COST PER SQ.FT. $ $ $ $ $ $0.00 HOTEL/RECREATIONAL FORCASTING CANMORE REAL ESTATE 2014 In summary I want to thank all my seller clients for their patience in waiting for the market to turn around to better suit their selling needs. If you are still entertaining selling your Canmore real estate, serious consideration should be given to listing this spring. On the other hand, those of you wishing to still get into the Canmore market, NOW would be a very good time. In my next newsletter I will continue with a history of how one man changed the face of the Canadian Rockies, with his marketing efforts in the 1980 s and what lessons can be learned from them. I will hopefully provide some insight and direction as to where our future markets lie. YOU BUY REAL ESTATE & WAIT DON T WAIT TO BUY REAL ESTATE Irene Brautigam Rockies Realty Banff/Canmore Cell: irene@canmorebanffhomes.com Website: 60 years in the valley! Trust the experience! 7 P a g e