Low Inventory continues into August.. Will the rest of the year bring us closer to a balanced market?

As I am writing this, I can hear the music at the Canmore Folk Music Festival in the background. It is so amazing that our local festival is the longest running folk music festival in Alberta starting in 1978. I feel like a broken record with the message of a continuing lack of inventory. Over the last five months, our listing inventory has only deviated from the average by at most 6.5%. It is this lack of inventory that has slowed down the number of sales as the buyers do not have much for choice, so we are seeing some buyers expand their parameters of what they are looking for while others are just being patient as they wait for that ‘right’ property to be available.
The data for July is skewed as over half of the sales and close to half of the new listings were just reported sales that happened previously at a new hotel condo development that is under construction to be completed in 2026. If we remove those added properties our months of supply is 2.43 for the entire market which continues that trend of a sellers market (a months of inventory between 4-6 is often referred to as a balanced market) Last year at this time we had expected a rise in inventory which did occur but it was not sustained as the pent up demand worked quickly through those listings bringing the inventory through the winter at the 2nd lowest on record (only behind 2 months the previous year)
We do continue to expect more listings to come on through August, September and October but will it be enough to move the market to be more in balance. That will take a substantial increase as we continue to have buyers waiting on the sidelines for that right property to come to market.
We hope you have enjoyed your summer to this point and the remaining summer is amazing! We are here to help with all your real estate needs and are never too busy for your referrals. Thank you!