Summary of May 2018

The start of the summer season is upon us at Lake McGregor Country Estates. As far as real estate goes, May was a busy month. Magnuson Realty Ltd. had three cottages listed during the month of May and all three have sold! One cottage was on the market for over one year, while another was on the market for several years. And the third cottage, well, it sold in less than one week of being listed. Could this mean that the recreational property market is finally turning around? Well, it's a start. Now we need to see if we can get some cottage lots sold, many of which have been on the market for at least one year, or more. I see that there are markings for what could possibly be a lot ready for a cottage to be moved on site. That would be nice to see. There are a couple of existing cottages that the owner are doing the final touches on out there. Outside of the real estate market, the boat docks are out and the grounds are looking nice and green! Much better than that white stuff that blanketed us not that long ago...

Local State of Emergency for Vulcan County

There is a state of emergency in place for Vulcan County. For more information, please visit the Vulcan County website at: www.vulcancounty.ab.ca. There has been overland flooding due to high amounts of snow melt and some roads have washout areas

Is it Spring yet?

April 16th, and Southern Alberta is getting hit with another snow storm today. This winter certainly seems to have drug on longer than average, and we certainly have had an above average snowfall. However, this means that we will have much more moisture to help our grass and trees get growing (whenever the winter decides to take a season off!). Like much of the real estate market in Alberta, perhaps Western Canada, the longer, colder, wetter winter has slowed an already weak market down. Yet, when the weather finally does start to warm up, I feel that the markets are going to get busy. Not 2006-2007 busy, but better. The reason being, people are sick and tired of being stuck indoors and will want to get out and do something. Soak in some sun! Get their boats in the water! Just be outside! In 2017, there were three less sales at Lake McGregor Country Estates than there were in 2016. Average roughly about 10 sales a year, including private sales and MLS sales. According to the Calgary Real Estate Board states, since January 1, 2016, there have been 9 sales reported at Lake McGregor Country Estates, and 5 sales at Little Bow Resort.

Lots of Snow

We have had lots of snow this winter, which means lots of green this spring! The moisture was a must, and we got it. As far as real estate activity goes, the interest has been minimal. With the weather due to warm up during the next month, we can expect some of the snow birds back, and people getting anxious to leave their igloos and look check out recreational property again. Here's looking forward to a busy spring!

Review of the 2017 Real Estate Market at the Lake

The following information was obtained from the Calgary Real Estate Board statistics, as well as through the Alberta Land Titles Registry. This is for information purposes only. In 2017, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board, there were five sales at Lake McGregor Country Estates - one cottage, two park model units on their own lot, and two cottage lot sales. The Alberta Land Titles Registry shows an addition RV lot with unit sold, as well as two more cottage lots. The highest priced cottage lot sold around the $45,000 mark, with the lowest priced lot selling around the $22,000 mark. It also looks like there was another cottage sold. Both cottages that sold this year were in the $265,000 to $270,000 mark. The positive thing to note from the sales this year is that one cottage sold that had been on the market for over five years, and one cottage lot sold that had been on the market for over five years too.

Fall 2017

As many owners at the resort have winterized their dwellings, things are slowing down at the resort. Mind you, with the last blast of chinook weather, there may be a few people coming out this weekend to enjoy some fresh air. The snow is almost all gone, and the lake has opened up again, as the ice melts. (Probably not good news for the ice fishermen) Sales activity at the lake continues to be weak, but that is expected for this time of the year.

Still Deals to be Made

Over the past month or so, there have been a couple of cottage lot sales. These are properties that have been on the market for years, one as long as seven years. It is nice to see them finally sell. The sale prices were much lower than what was asked for when they were first listed. Back then, the market had reached a high and was just starting to fall off. Hence, the sellers are disappointed as to the price point where they had to sell, but they are also relieved in that their lots finally sold. So now those sellers can move on, and we have new owners who are anxious to begin a new chapter of their lives at the lake!