New BC short term regulations coming into effect in May 2024 Last month, the British Columbia provincial government made the landmark decision to ban short term rentals across the entire province from May 2024 onwards, with a few exceptions (to be discussed below). This is a big blow to Airbnb owners across the province, particularly for those that have built their businesses around short term rental income. At the same time, this change has the potential to be a big win for the many that are struggling with the high home prices and rents in BC. This blog post is going to dig into these new re ..read more

It’s that time again when we talk real estate markets in the Bow Valley! We’ve just hit the middle of August 2023, so it’s time to take a look back at what happened in our July real estate market here in Banff. Once we’ve taken a quick spin through the month’s statistics, we’ll dive into why the markets are moving the way they are, as well as a few macro economic (or looking at the big picture in Canada) news updates that might be affecting house prices this month. First things first, let’s take a look at Banff, Alberta’s July 2023 real estate stats: Market trends in Banff, July 2023 Overall H ..read more

Fresh off the press, the Canmore market statistics from June 2023 have been released, so here’s a quick blog post to rattle through all the latest updates. We’ll get into all the Canmore June housing market updates for 2023, as well as a quick look at the general Canadian market. Then, finally, I’ll share any interesting news updates in the past month. Here goes! Canmore Housing Market Update June 2023 As always, our stats are looking back at the previous month, so in this blog post we will look back on all the housing market changes in the month of June, 2023. Overall housing market changes I ..read more

You’ve loved your home in Canmore, but it’s time to sell. Maybe you’re thinking about moving to a different part of town, you need to find something bigger, or maybe you’re thinking about downsizing. Whatever the reason, there are a few things you’ll probably need to have sorted before you can actually sell. This blog post is going to list 13 great tips for getting your property ready to sell or list with a realtor. It’s not exhaustive, but if you can work through most of this list, you’ll be in an excellent position to sell. As always, if you find yourself in need of a real live person/local ..read more

Short term rental properties are one of the most popular and profitable types of investment in the Bow Valley. Unfortunately, Airbnb’s aren’t allowed in Banff, so you can generally find them all in Canmore and Dead Man’s Flats. Some have, quite frankly, astonishing returns on investment, and when the good ones come up for sale, they fly off the shelves like there’s no tomorrow. “Why isn’t everyone buying these properties then?”, you may find yourself wondering. And the truth is there are a few reasons: Only certain properties allow for Airbnb rentals in Canmore, so there’s limited supply. Fin ..read more

The summer is notoriously slow in the Bow Valley, as people get distracted by summer adventures and vacations, or (more likely in this case), spend a month indoors trying to avoid the forest fire smoke! Although the real estate activity is still strong, there’s a notable dip compared with last year’s figures. This can probably be explained by last summer’s lull in Covid activity, when people suddenly felt able to go outdoors and look at houses again after our first lockdown. Let’s take a look at the activity and see what it can tell us. Overall Sales – QUICK STATS FOR May 2021: New listings ..read more

It’s a new month, and finally the market statistics from May 2021 have been released for Banff and Canmore. There is plenty of great new information to digest month, so let’s dive straight in with the latest. I’ll also take a look at some of the latest market news from May that may be affecting house prices. Overall Sales – QUICK STATS FOR May 2021: New listings: 104 (+51% y/y) Inventory: 139 (-39% y/y) Average DOM 31 Months supply: 1.93 (-79% y/y) Benchmark price: $897,400 (+19% y/y) Sales closed: 72 (+188% y/y) So what can we learn from the overall residential statistics in Canmore in May ..read more

The Bow Valley continues to show exceptionally strong market activity, with many properties selling within a matter of hours or a few short days of reaching the market. We’re still seeing plenty of interest from Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver as people realise they can work from anywhere and live in the mountains. Quick Stats for the past 7 days: New listings: 25 Properties back on the market: 1 Conditional sales: 6 New Sales: 18 Price changes: 14 Sales closed: 13 Off market deals: 1 This week’s closed sales (13 total): Cheapest sale: $415,000 (1BR 1BTH) Highest sale: $1,376,000 A ..read more

Approx read time: 10 minutes A changing real estate landscape in Banff and Canmore Covid-19 has changed our lives in many ways, but one of the biggest changes we’re seeing around the world is in real estate. Covid has affected our spending habits, our priorities, our outlook on life, our location preferences and more, and all of these factors have had a huge effect on our real estate requirements, and perhaps more importantly, on demand for certain types of property. There is a lot of talk of unstable markets across Canada, as prices continue to soar up and up. You can’t mention Canadian real ..read more

Quick disclaimer This is a post all about buying real estate in Banff and how the leasing system works with financing. It’s intended to be educational but not relied upon, so if you’re contemplating buying a property in Banff, please consult your lawyer or mortgage broker for more information, or give me a call to discuss in more detail. This blog post does not constitute advice. Because Banff is located in a national park, purchasing a property here is a little more complicated than purchasing a property anywhere else in the country. Aside from the, much talked about, ‘need to reside’ clause ..read more