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Calgary Herald

Demand remains high for Canmore properties

Article content High prices. No problem. Article content Canmore's high-price resale housing market hasn't dampened demand to start the year with a recent report suggesting demand is likely to continue to be strong for the rest of 2025. Article content 'Canmore is the unicorn among rec markets,' says Anne-Elise Cugliari Allegritti, national director of research and communications for Royal LePage. Article content 'It really does march to its own drum, and it's kind of an ultra-luxury market because of its unique location.' Article content Article content A day-trip for many Calgarians, and even a bedroom community for some high-salaried professionals willing to make the commute to the city, Canmore is among the highest priced recreational communities in Canada, as noted in the recent Royal LePage 2025 Spring Recreational Property Report. Article content Article content It cites the average price for a single-family detached home there inched up about two per cent last year from 2023 to reach $1.68 million. Only Whistler, B.C., had a higher average price at about $3.14 million, up five per cent year over year. Article content The report forecasts growth in across Canada' recreational market this year with the average price of a single-family detached home in communities like Muskoka, Pigeon Lake, the Okanagan and Pemberton among dozens of others expected to collectively grow four per cent to reach $652,808 by the end of 2025. Article content In Alberta, the forecast is for the average price to grow only about two per cent to almost $1.3 million, which Canmore elevates significantly. Most other communities, like Lac Ste. Anne are priced below $700,000 even for waterfront properties in the province, the report shows. Article content Article content That said, the recreational market is coming off a slow 2024. Article content 'All of our experts were saying that activity was slower last year,' says Cugliari Allegritti. 'Ontario, we saw a 20-year low in sales activity.'' Article content Sales now appear to be picking up in many communities, driven in part by lower interest rates for mortgages. Article content 'It definitely has had a positive impact because, simply put, lower rates give the average person more borrowing power,' she says. Article content Buyers in Canmore seeking single-family detached homes are typically less affected by interest rate movements, says Brad Hawker, realtor at The Hawker Betts Real Estate Team, Royal LePage Solutions in Canmore and Banff. Article content 'We've been busy,' he says. 'There is no sign of things slowing down.' Article content Still, December and January were a little slower than past years, 'but mid-February, March and April have been busy.' Article content Buyers are a mix of recreational and locals who work in the Bow Valley. While the ideal is to purchase a mountain-style home with an open main floor concept, plenty of natural light and exposed, rustic woodwork, condominium apartments are the entry point for many local buyers and even recreational ones.