Similar to the last few updates, the sales numbers suck. Volume is way down.
August 2026 saw 38 sales, down 34.48% from August 2025 (58 sales). The five year average for August is 52 sales, so we are well below normal. You have to go back to 2019 to find sales this low (41).
Year to date we sit at 320 sales, down 18.58% from last year. At this point in 2025 we were at 393.New listings for August came in at 58, down 14.71% from last August. Year to date, new listings are down 9.89%.
Fear?
In 2021 and 2022, when there were bidding wars and prices were climbing fast, people were motivated to buy because they were afraid of missing out.
In the summer of 2026, it has been the opposite fear driving things. Fear that prices are going to drop, that interest rates are going to climb, or that a better property is going to come along. That fear has kept a lot of people on the side-lines.
Either way, people take their cues from others. When everyone else is jumping in, it must be the right time. When no one is jumping in, it must be the wrong time. Auctions and lineups outside restaurants run on the same herd mentality.
But here is the reality...Several things can be true at once.
It can be a tough market with weak sales and still be the right time for YOU to sell. Think about the holding costs, the life costs, and the opportunity costs of trying to squeeze a bit more out of a property while you wait for a "better market." Almost anyone selling right now who has owned for more than a year or two has made good money compared to what they paid. Is the uncertainty of when the market might improve worth putting your life on hold?
It can also be a market where other buyers aren't active, and that could make it the perfect time for YOU to buy. Less competition, arguably better value, more room to include conditions and do proper due diligence. And the complicated deals, like buying when you also have to sell, those are only really possible when there aren't cash buyers jumping in.
The truth is that the right time to buy or sell is a lot more individual than it is about the market. But for better or worse, the opinions and actions of everyone else still carry a lot of weight in how people decide.
Shifting???
I think everyone knew some whacky stuff was coming from south of the border. And we might not be done yet. A lot of the slowness and fear this summer was built on that feeling.
As counterintuitive as it sounds, the looming trade war and the lack of a trade deal seem to have increased activity and inquiries on properties.
It has always been my view that people only delay what they want for so long. Eventually the doom and gloom of the world gets boring. Spending more time in the Columbia Valley and buying a cool property is a lot less boring.
We saw it in 2021 and 2022, and we might be about to see a bit of that shift again, where some of the people sitting on the side-lines decide that life is uncertain, the world is a basket case, and this valley is a pretty good place to spend your time (and your money).
Combine that with a slowdown in new listings and other listings coming off the market. We have seen some listings expire without re-listing, and some sellers simply cancel and withdraw. I will be fascinated to see whether inventory levels drop this fall.
At the end of August we were sitting at 449 active listings. That’s in line with the 5 year average. The lowest level in recent memory was November of 2023 with only 259 active listings. This will be a number that is worth watching.
The slow sales in 2026 are not just a story about buyers being afraid. They are also a story about a lack of supply in certain price points and locations. We are short on lake access properties. We are short on newer, nicer homes in Invermere below $800k. We are short on small acreages.
Complicated:
Maybe it is a sign of getting older. Maybe it is just wishful thinking. But man, I wish things were simpler and less complicated.
But they aren't.
And if you are buying or selling in or around Invermere and the Columbia Valley, you need thoughtful and experienced advice and guidance.
Team Taft is happy to help!