Calgary realtor optimistic that water main issues won’t impact Bowness property values

Residents of 33rd Avenue NW — one of the streets most directly impacted by Calgary’s water main break — say they love living here, despite dealing with these issues for years, and according to Calgary realtor Tim Lind, the watermain inconveniences have little to no affect on property values in the area.

“Buyers appreciate the locations, the other amenities. I just don’t feel like in the long term it’ll have an impact, but it obviously is a big inconvenience for the current owners,” he explained.

According to wowa.ca, housing inventory in Calgary was 29 per cent higher in December than it was a year prior, and monthly home sales in the city declined nearly 15 per cent year-over-year.

Rebekah Mahar sold her Bowness home in November, before the second watermain break occurred. She says even then, it didn’t sell very quickly.

“We made a profit. Our neighbours sold in June and they made a significant profit,” Mahar said. “We had to lower our price by a lot to sell it.”

Lind says this is consistent with what he currently experiences in the housing market.

“We are seeing quite a bit of change from what we saw one to two years ago. Of course Canada-U.S. relations is having a big impact on buyer sentiment right now,” he explained. “So the market has really shifted. Buyers are a lot more cautious, houses are taking longer to sell.”

Mahar also attributes the change to fewer people migrating to Alberta, and Canada overall, as well as uncertainty in the oil market.

“In Alberta, we’re heavily invested in one industry, and when that industry fluctuates, I think people’s ability to move around changes,” she said.