The housing market in Jasper is very active, said longtime realtor Rich Potter - and what's happening here is happening across the country.
Potter, broker and owner of Royal LePage Summitview Realty, has worked in the real estate business for more than 30 years and has seen trends come and go.
"Jasper is a small market, so the variations over a month or two are common," he said.
Potter pointed out though, that no matter what the variables are in the real estate market at a given time, it comes down to supply and demand.
"There are a lot of home sales going on, from smaller condominiums to a high-end luxury home, even in the midst of the ailing economy," he said.
"It wasn't because people were fleeing or losing their jobs. I didn't see anything that was job-related."
He added the reason for the supply was not COVID-related. Some people sold their homes and moved into seniors' facilities while others relocated.
"The whole market is selling,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hey're buying through all sectors of the market. It's showing stability. It speaks to people with the means taking the time to buy, when interest rates are lower. There are seven sales or pending sales in the last ten to 11 weeks."
Potter is also in the property management business in Jasper, Hinton and Grande Cache.
In that market, he said, the business 鈥渄oes not have significant receivables on rent鈥�.
In consideration of the financially difficult times, Potter said, "We've been giving people time, if needed, to pay their rent without penalty."
There have been very few of those scenarios though.
"That's another thing that speaks to stability, people are staying current on their rents," he said. "That's people prioritizing what they're spending money on: food and housing payments."
Still, the pandemic has hit the local economy hard.
Consider alone, that in 2019, 51 per cent of the visitors to Jasper National Park were from international places. There's uncertainty and job instability across the country.
Potter said it's nice to see it busier in town but when the summer season winds down, he cautioned, "We're going to see some difficulties as fall comes. We've had 50 per cent of the revenue we usually get in a normal summer."
