October 14, 2022 | Selling

Canmore living room with fireplace

Canmore has seen more home and condo sales in the last few years. It’s partly because homeowners are cashing out on what has been an excellent real estate investment, and many people are moving up from their smaller condos into larger homes.

The influx of new builds (i.e., new construction) has also brought more listings to our marketplace. Those looking to sell their Canmore home need to know some essential factors before selling.

Let’s dive into those key factors to understand what to expect when you prepare to list your home or condo in Canmore, Alberta!

Tax Implications

If you are looking to sell your primary residence and have not rented the home or condo out to others, then you will not be affected by GST (except on the real estate fee for service). To be clear, if you sell your primary residence for $2 million, you will not owe the GST on that value.

If, however, you are selling a new construction condo or house, then the GST will be owed. In most cases, this is passed on to the buyers, though you may be responsible for remittance.

If you have used your condo for short-term rentals, GST will be owed on the sale.

If the Canmore home or condo is not your primary residence, be sure to speak with your accountant about the impact of the capital gains taxes on the sale of the property. Remember that capital gains and GST are not taxed on primary residences. It’s only secondary properties that are impacted by capital gains. Capital gains are the growth in value (appreciation of the real estate investment) less some expenses, then 50% of that is taxed based on your personal tax rate.

Before you sell your home or condo, we always recommend speaking with your accountant to ensure that you create the most beneficial tax savings for you and your family.

Get Your Selling Strategy Here

Real Property Report

Do you have a real property report? If not, get this prepared as soon as possible. Real property reports are mandatory in Alberta real estate transactions. A real property report is basically a land survey. This must be no older than five years of age, and it is required to be provided by the sellers to the buyer’s lawyer before closing. The real estate sale can fall apart if not supplied in time.

Prepare The Home

Does the home need a refresh of paint? Any repairs?  Looking at your home or condo from a buyer’s viewpoint is essential. You may look over elements because familiarity may appear to a new buyer. Make the necessary improvements ahead of time – it will make your life much easier when it comes time to sell your home! Contact us if you have any questions or need guidance with paint colours (many Canmore homeowners can overlook the importance of neutral, bright tones.) Remove extra items, whether Spring or not, and do some Spring cleaning. De-clutter the space and put more important things that dwarf spaces into storage, off-sight.

5 Tips When Selling Your Canmore Condo

Marketing & Staging

Real estate agents often overlook real estate marketing. It’s not a well-known or understood space. However, the importance cannot be ignored! Understanding how to utilize social media, paid online advertising and neighbourhood flyering (i.e., Just Listed Cards) are only a few elements. MLS is not enough to sell a property – it’s essential, but a professional real estate agent should do far more than that – and do it very well to maximize your home’s sale price of your home!

Staging isn’t standard in Canmore, but it’s worth doing. At the very least, a real estate stylist should be brought in to make the most of your home. It will make the professional photographs pop! We cannot tell you how often staging has made a massive difference in the sale prices of our listings versus others.


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Choose A Professional Realtor

We feel like this should go without saying, but hiring a professional realtor who creates a top-notch marketing strategy to sell your home for the most money is paramount. Get us involved early! The amount of times that Canmore homeowners want to list their properties in three days is incredible. It’s worth taking the time (and preparing well ahead of a sale) to get your home listed quickly without missing an essential step!

Time Of Year To Sell

Some people think they must hold off selling until a particular time of year. It’s not necessarily true. What is most important is to consider where the market is at any given point in the year. During a hot real estate market, there is more flexibility with timing. That being said, the best time to go to market is when you are ready and have reason to sell. We must have your ducks lined up when that time comes, which we discuss in this blog post. There are many tips that we touch on with clients. The key is to invite us into your thinking well in advance so we can be your real estate guides throughout the prep and sale process!

Selling your Canmore home is a big decision. We pride ourselves on helping our clients from the outset through to the successful launch of their home and on to close. Not only that, but we are committed to staying in touch with our clients for the years to come. We make every effort to be our client’s lifetime real estate advisors so that they have the confidence to know that they are making wise decisions when buying and selling, no matter what market it may be in.

Contact us here to begin the conversation!

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