of Maclean’s, and each week here online, recent buyers divulge what they had to do to acquire the cottages of their dreams: pool family money, send relatives for viewings, hop on the first flight to Atlantic Canada post-bubble, or buy sight unseen, sometimes from thousands of kilometres away.In the shadow of the picturesque Rocky Mountains, Canmore is regularly overrun by seasonal tourists looking to get their thrills from hiking and choppering around the Bow Valley’s craggy cliffs.
At first, I couldn’t imagine buying real estate from a video walk-through, but it’s a big expense to fly across the country to see places that might sell before you can get out there. Canmore’s prices go up so quickly that a property’s value is determined by what comparable places sold for the day before. We bid on a three-bedroom condo in late January, which was listed at $749,700. We offered $853,000, knowing there were multiple bids.
Maybe they would have jumped at less, but we didn’t want to lose out again. Plus, it won’t matter in a couple of years—we’ll just be happy we have this place. I can’t wait to see it in person. It closes at the end of June, and we have one buyer visit before then.