Let's look back Five years ago…
A little over Five years ago, when Covid lockdowns and restrictions were starting and everything seemed very uncertain, I did a quick little video and blog post. At the time, a lot of people were speculating that real estate would crash, I wasn’t sure if I would have a job or an income as a REALTOR®. It was without question a scary and uncertain time.
But when I really thought about it, thought about Invermere and the Columbia Valley and what it has to offer and also about how tangible and real land, homes, and real estate is- and knowing that many of the clients I had just helped purchased properties were paying cash or putting down big downpayments- it just didn’t make sense at the time that values and prices would crash. People weren’t speculating, people were financially and emotionally invested, they wanted to be here.
Did I predict that the market would go crazy and prices would escalate so much through 2021 & 2022? No, no I didn’t. But one of the other things I did around this time, which seemed crazy at the time and it wasn’t because of some perfect insight into the future- but I put an offer on 32 acres of land north of Edgewater that had development potential. I didn’t have very much cash, and to pull off this purchase meant taking more risk and more debt. I had no sense that values would go up, but I knew that land was real, and finding a piece of land with development potential (existing R-1 zoning and not in the ALR) was very rare in this area- I went for it.
Back to 2025…
Although not to the same extreme, this spring has had some similarities to the spring of 2020. The fall and early winter of 2024 was steady, prices seemed stable and things seemed to be ticking along, January of 2025 showed strong demand and activity and things were looking like a pretty busy year for 2025.
And then around the end of January, there was a real pause, tariff threats and uncertainty, stock market drops… things seemed to be getting weird.
Through February and March of 2025 things have still been steady, waves of busy and waves of less busy, but there been sales. Most of the activity has been local, a number of local families and younger people getting into the market or upgrading to a bigger place. Three single family homes in Westside Park have recently sold, and fourth is conditionally sold, all in and around the $500k price point.
It had felt like Airbnb condos and homes over $1 million were quiet. I believe that some of the people with bigger pockets and more net worth have been sitting on the side-lines waiting to see what is going to happen.
But since the beginning of April, the inquiries are picking up, the offers are coming in on listings that have been out there for awhile- and the number of quality listings (especially single family homes) is slowing- and existing inventory is selling.
Looking at the numbers, March of 2025 for the entire Columbia Valley had 43 sales, compared with 40 last year. Year to date we are at 111 for 2025 compared to 101 for 2024. Looking back further, inn 2023 Jan to end of March was 97 sales, in comparison looking back to the crazy days of 2022 we had 194 sales for the same time period, and 2021 was an eye popping 256 in the first three months of the year.
The numbers…
Looking at the numbers, March of 2025 for the entire Columbia Valley had 43 sales, compared with 40 last year. Year to date we are at 111 for 2025 compared to 101 for 2024. Looking back further, inn 2023 Jan to end of March was 97 sales, in comparison looking back to the crazy days of 2022 we had 194 sales for the same time period, and 2021 was an eye popping 256 in the first three months of the year.
Days on market are up a bit, some of this could be explained by having a bit of a pause and slow down late January through February (average of 101 days on market this year compared with 98 last year), but what is really interesting is that average selling price to list price percentage is shrinking, so far in 2025 the average selling price is 95.18% of the listing price, for the same time last year it was 93.51%. This will be an interesting metric to watch throughout the year.
Takeaways…
- In an uncertain (and sometimes unsafe) world, Invermere & the Columbia Valley is a great place to be
- Existing inventory is selling, locals are upgrading and jumping into the market
- Higher priced properties have not been very busy
- Inquiries are picking up
- Not that many new listings, especially for single family homes in or near Invermere, the inventory for single family homes at all prices points is very limited
Speculation/Prediction…
- March was steady, I think April will be busier especially if we see some new listings or new inventory on the market
- Strong demand and interest on single family homes in or near Invermere, and anything with lake access or views of Lake Windermere
- We could see some US dollars coming into our market. There could be Canadians selling recreational properties in the USA (or even some expat Canadians in the USA coming back to Canada), and to a lesser degree Americans looking for an investment, who will benefit from the exchange and start looking in this area (we have no foreign buyer ban or vacant home tax)
- I do not think we will see prices go down, if demand remains strong prices could tick up, although my guess is modestly
- Grossly overpriced properties will sit on the market, buyers are savvy and cautious
If you are thinking about buying or selling, I would be happy to chat with you about the market and your needs!