Canmore real estate is hot for American buyers
Canmore real estate is hot for American buyers
‘Lock-and-leave’ purchases a potential concern for Alberta mountain town’s housing prices.
As Calgary’s real estate market slows to a crawl According to Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), Of Canada’s eleven major cities, seven experienced house price rises during the year to end-September 2015 and Calgary sits in 6th position with .30% increase. That is not the case with Canmore, which is seeing rapidly growing interest from American buyers — but it is raising questions for locals some of whom have concerns.
When the Canadian dollar gets lower, it attracts American shoppers for all sectors including Real estate. The agents in Canmore are getting more and more calls from our closest neighbors and results are starting to show with some closed transactions.
With the view of the Canadian Rockies the demand is increasing not only from the buyers based in USA but also it is attracting developers, who want to tap into the opportunity.
According to CBC News,
“The exchange rate was definitely of interest to us,” said Cecilia Padilla, a buyer from Texas.
“We feel that it’s a small window of opportunity that the U.S. dollar gives us more buying power and it’s not always going to stay like that.”
She and her husband passed over Telluride, Vale, and Aspen and decided on a Canmore property.
“We’ve always felt the Canadian Rockies are one of the most beautiful places in North America and we feel very lucky to be able to buy a home up there right now.”
Developers are noticing as well.
“They’re not necessarily Americans, they are Canadians that have properties in the States,” said Teresa Mullen, marketing director for Spring Creek, a multi-facility housing development.
She said she’s noticing those Canadians choosing to buy in places like Canmore rather than the U.S.
‘Lock and leave vacationers’
Not everyone thinks there’s a looming problem.
Christopher Vincent, Sotheby Realty’s vice president of sales, points out Americans are “not coming by the bus-full.”
Vincent said “lock-and-leave” vacationers make different types of purchases than locals.
“There’s a decent amount of product out there right now that I think we can absorb any kind of outside buyer.”
The low Canadian dollar is drawing foreign investors to high-end vacation homes in Canmore, experts say. (Sotheby’s International Realty Canada)
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Julie contributes to HiBusiness.ca when she is not teaching high-schoolers the importance of science and technology. An IT teacher, Julie loves computers and the internet.
