It was a wild year for the real estate market in Canmore! From a strong start, to a stalled market due to COVID, to record-smashing months through summer, fall, and winter, here’s a review of the 2020 Canmore market.
January – February
The spring market arrived early in Canmore with a dramatic rise in inventory and sales, significantly outpacing February 2019.
March – April
In March, Alberta declared a public health state of emergency and imposed restrictions on public activity. While the Canmore real estate market started out strong in March, the lockdown stalled the market with little to no activity occurring through the early spring.
May
The Canmore real estate market experienced an increase in activity as the province of Alberta began its relaunch. The number of new listings and sales nearly doubled in the month of May as compared to April. However, listings and sales volume still remained low in comparison to May 2019 and in previous years. Properties that closed were listed near pre-COVID-19 prices and sold for anywhere from list price in multiple offers to 5% below list.
June
The number of new listings and sales rose substantially in June with sales volume only slightly lower than June 2019. Properties continued to close near pre-COVID-19 prices and sold anywhere from list price in multiple offers to 5% below list.
July – September
Pent up demand, low interest rates, high visitation, and the effects of COVID-19 fuelled the market resulting in record setting months:
July set a new record for the most sales transactions in a month ever in the Canmore market.
August sales significantly outpaced the same month over the last three years.
September sales significantly outpaced the same month over the last three years.
July, August and September was the best quarter for sales on record in the Canmore market.
October – December
The Canmore real estate market continued to thrive through the fall and early winter.
October broke the July record for the most sales transactions in a month ever in the Canmore market.
November proceeded to smash both the July and October sales records with over 130 sales which is normally the sales volume achieved in a healthy quarter for Canmore real estate.
December, normally quiet in the last half of the month, produced over 85 sales, approaching record-setting territory for the most sales in that month year over year.
Summary
In 2020, Canmore and the surrounding communities, including Dead Man’s Flats, Exshaw, Lac des Arcs, and Harvie Heights, experienced an increase in sales volume of over 25% year over year. Detached and semi-detached home sales as well as townhome sales increased by over 30% with short-term rental properties seeing the largest increase in sales at over 85%. Due to the volume of sales, prices increased in most areas of the market.
Overall, 2020 was the best year for sales in the last twenty years of the Canmore real estate market. Even with the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, travel restrictions, and the market stalling for three months, 2020 real estate activity and sales surpassed the boom of the early 2000’s and the strong Canmore market over the last four years.