'The Manor House' in Calgary listed at $12M despite drop in luxury sales
It has room for all 7 of your cars and so much more
It's 10,000 square feet with five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, two powder rooms, a two-storey garage with a carriage house and room for only seven of your vehicles and a 1,200-square-foot patio.
In other words, it's a lot of house. It also comes with a $12.25-million price tag.
The property — which is called "the Manor house" — is located on a cul-de-sac in Aspen Estates and if it wasn't clear beforehand, realtor Corrine Poffenroth says it's aimed at a specific market.
"So we're not expecting a typical purchaser for this property — a property at this price point," she said.
"The purchaser would not be as affected by the everyday shifts in the economy and the market. And at Sotheby's International Realty we are marketing the property locally, nationally and internationally and we expect to pique a lot of interest throughout our network that way."
If you want to see how the other half live, have a look.
Luxury home sales down
Luxury home sales in Calgary have taken a hit this year thanks to slumping oil prices, but that didn't stop Sotheby's from listing the home today.
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Listing agent Corinne Poffenroth says she's confident the mansion can sell despite Calgary seeing a 36 per cent drop in sales over the past year for homes priced at more than a million dollars.
The listing arrives on the market as luxury home sales have dropped from three per cent of total sales last year to 2.8 per cent so far this year while also making up a greater portion of listings, says Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist at the Calgary Real Estate Board.
"There's just more choice in that segment of the market," said Lurie. "It just points to the fact that there's just generally less activity."
The sales-to-listing ratio for homes in the million-plus range — which is an indicator of the health of the market — is at 26 per cent now, compared with 40 per cent last year, Lurie added.
'A little darker on the horizon'
Completed sales of luxury homes are also down. As of the end of July, 15 homes had sold for more than $2.5 million compared with 23 homes last year. Of those, only one was sold for more than $4 million compared with three last year.
Jim Sparrow, a Calgary real estate agent with Royal LePage, says "it's obviously a little darker on the horizon than it was a year ago."
"It's really not surprising," he added. "There are people that just think the market's going to go lower, and there's fewer people coming into Calgary."
Nonetheless, the abundance of listings isn't resulting in lower prices being paid for luxury homes in Calgary, says Poffenroth.
Price reductions?
"We haven't seen the drastic price reductions some of the buyers were expecting to see," said Poffenroth.
Home sales could pick up in the fall after the typically slow summer season, especially as buyers tire of waiting, she added.
"Buyers are sick of waiting around for the price reductions that aren't happening," said Poffenroth.
She said foreign buyers might also consider buying into the Calgary market with the drop in the Canadian dollar, adding she's been getting more international inquiries.
With files from The Canadian Press