The mountain community of Canmore is seeing a red hot real estate market when it comes to recreational home sales.
The Royal LePage Spring Recreational Property Report reveals that in Alberta, the median price of a single-family home increased 10.2 per cent to $819,583 year over year.
That increase was largely credited to the 11.4 per cent rise in the Canmore market.
Compare that to Canada-wide, where recreational property prices rose five per cent to $411,471 compared to the previous year.
Realtor Drew Betts of Rocky Mountain Realty said he’s definitely seen an uptick in sales activity.
“The driving market, for sure, is the vacation home — the second home market,” Betts said.
The realtor said they’re seeing a variety of buyers, from a variety of places.
“We’ve been drawing buyers from internationally, within Alberta as well as Canada, and the U.S. as well.”
Like many communities in Alberta, Canmore did see a slowdown during the economic downturn.
But again, Betts said that is turning around.
That’s not the case for overall home sales in Alberta.
The Alberta Real Estate Association’s latest numbers show year-to-date provincial sales activity is down nearly three per cent from last year — and more than 14 per cent below long-term averages.
AREA chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie said things are improving slightly.
“Easing prices combined with some optimism that the province’s economic situation will improve are supporting some demand growth in the larger centres,” Lurie said.
“While this has helped reduce some of the oversupply pressure in the market, it will take time before we see more balanced conditions and ultimately, price stability.”
Still, things are definitely looking up for recreational prices.
Royal LePage expects those prices within Alberta to continue to increase over the next 12 months.
The median price of a single-family home is forecast to rise 2.4 per cent over the next year to $838,881.
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