In an uncertain world, Invermere and the Columbia Valley seems like a pretty great place to be!
"Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security" - John Allen Paulos
It’s February 9th at the time of this writing, and I am now focusing on the real estate stats for January and my sense of the market and trends.
In previous months I was excited to print off the sales and give you my opinion right away, on the first of the month- beat anyone else to talking about the sale statistics. I printed off the numbers on the evening of January 31st. But I was frozen, it didn't seem like the right time to share the numbers and my insights.
Two things held me back over the last nine or so days from giving you my opinion on the current market. With the threats of tariffs and a trade war, with mixed signals and mixed data (some agents had a lot of sales in January and some had none)- I just didn’t know what was happening. And the other factor, I got busy, I got busier, there were some deadlines and timelines to get some great new listings on the market and re-list some properties that had recently expired, and around the middle of this week, I received four offers on four different listings, and amazingly enough all four deals ended up getting accepted and are now conditional.
So here is my general conclusion, I think we are in a balanced market. There are some new listings coming in (although still basically no new single family homes for sale in Invermere or Windermere under $1 million). Buyers are able to negotiate for some concessions off of the asking price and come in with reasonable condition timelines and for most properties we are not seeing multiple offers (but there are some multiple offers or quick offers on new listings in some cases). Sales were strong for January 2025 and seem to be even stronger for February 2025. A number of current listings are conditionally sold.
Let’s look at the numbers so far, in January 2025 there were 31 sales, compared to 29 in January of 29 (that’s the entire Columbia Valley from Spillimacheen on north to Canal Flats on the south, and including Panorama). New listings this January hit 77, compared to 44 last year.
With Family Day weekend coming, the days getting a bit longer, and people thinking about spring and summer, I anticipate that the rest of February should be pretty steady. What will be interesting to watch is what March and April brings. Last year there seemed to be waves of activity, last February was strong and busy, but it slowed in March.
One trend that is most pronounced at Panorama but can be felt among almost all apartment style condos is the lost allure of short term rentals and Airbnb. Between the combination of higher interest rates and higher strata fees, the decrease of off season occupancy post-COVID, and the increase of (and the beginning of enforcement of) licensing regulations (including the BC Provincial registration system with a $450 fee); many existing STR owners/investors are trying to get out, and there are not a lot of new buyers trying to get in.
What I am finding is that the buyers who are interested in apartment style condos are looking for either all personal use with no rentals (true second home), or heavy personal use with some cost offsetting from rentals. But from what I can tell there are effectively no “investors” and people looking for only income on condos- mainly because the income and rate of return just isn’t that great. It is a whole different post, but there is some stuff going on with Panorama Resort and enforcing a rental covenant, watch for more details on that!
One of the conclusions that I take from the lack of single family home selection, and the number of full time buyers and people wanting to move here to live full time, in a world that is uncertain- this is a great place to be! And most of the people who are here don’t want to leave! I see stability and strong demand for single family and even townhouse style property in and around the core of Invermere & Windermere, and because of the lack of selection this will spill over to Radium (and north) and Fairmont.
If you are thinking about listing, I have a number of qualified buyers looking for the right property, and I know other agents do too, let’s chat about potential marketing strategy and timeline!
If you are thinking about buying, let’s get in touch and find out what your needs and wants are- sometimes there are off-MLS opportunities or advance notice of new listings and in a tight a competitive market- being connected with a local and knowledgeable agent can make the difference on getting what you want and not missing out. I am happy to help!
Send me a note: gerry@gerrytaft.ca or give me a call 250-341-1202