There's good living available near the oilsands.
The question is, can it sell?
A single family home at 105 Chestnut Way in Fort McMurray was the subject of a walkabout tour by The Globe and Mail late last month.
And it's a beaut.
The tour highlighted features such as a gourmet kitchen, gym, home theatre and spa. There's a TV on one of the mirrors in the master bedroom and the garage is a "man cave" with a bar and enough space to store motorcycles and snowmobiles.
Check out photos of 105 Chestnut Way in Fort McMurray:
At the time the Globe did its story, the home was listed for $1,390,000. But the price has since dropped to $1,299,950.
The reason is that the house, a model home that has never been lived in, has seen its price drop because the builder just wants to move it off the market, realtor Greg Walsh told The Huffington Post Alberta.
But it nevertheless comes at a time when some of Fort McMurray's property market is slipping.
The Globe and Mail reported last month that sales at the top end of Fort McMurray's housing market — homes priced at $850,000 and up — have slowed, a trend that is stalling new construction, said Re/Max realtor Brett Campbell.
"Typically, builders just jump all over the lots in Fort McMurray, but because of our current market, a lot of people have held back in terms of purchasing," he told the newspaper.
"That's kind of something we've never seen before."
Campbell pointed out that the trend has come as the price of oil has slid. Concerns regarding oversupply have pushed the price of crude below US$75 per barrel for the first time since 2010.
Walsh doesn't feel that the price of oil has slowed home sales. He said it likely has more to do with companies housing employees at camps before flying them home to other places in Canada.
"It's sort of unprecedented that about 50 to 55,000 people that work for all the large oil companies and companies in association with them are encouraging people to live in Kelowna or Newfoundland, or wherever," he said.
As for the effect of oil prices, he said people in Fort McMurray are used to it going up and down.
"It'll go down, it'll go back up again, nothing's changed from that regard, really," Walsh said.
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The question is, can it sell?
A single family home at 105 Chestnut Way in Fort McMurray was the subject of a walkabout tour by The Globe and Mail late last month.
And it's a beaut.
The tour highlighted features such as a gourmet kitchen, gym, home theatre and spa. There's a TV on one of the mirrors in the master bedroom and the garage is a "man cave" with a bar and enough space to store motorcycles and snowmobiles.
Check out photos of 105 Chestnut Way in Fort McMurray:
At the time the Globe did its story, the home was listed for $1,390,000. But the price has since dropped to $1,299,950.
The reason is that the house, a model home that has never been lived in, has seen its price drop because the builder just wants to move it off the market, realtor Greg Walsh told The Huffington Post Alberta.
But it nevertheless comes at a time when some of Fort McMurray's property market is slipping.
The Globe and Mail reported last month that sales at the top end of Fort McMurray's housing market — homes priced at $850,000 and up — have slowed, a trend that is stalling new construction, said Re/Max realtor Brett Campbell.
"Typically, builders just jump all over the lots in Fort McMurray, but because of our current market, a lot of people have held back in terms of purchasing," he told the newspaper.
"That's kind of something we've never seen before."
Campbell pointed out that the trend has come as the price of oil has slid. Concerns regarding oversupply have pushed the price of crude below US$75 per barrel for the first time since 2010.
Walsh doesn't feel that the price of oil has slowed home sales. He said it likely has more to do with companies housing employees at camps before flying them home to other places in Canada.
"It's sort of unprecedented that about 50 to 55,000 people that work for all the large oil companies and companies in association with them are encouraging people to live in Kelowna or Newfoundland, or wherever," he said.
As for the effect of oil prices, he said people in Fort McMurray are used to it going up and down.
"It'll go down, it'll go back up again, nothing's changed from that regard, really," Walsh said.
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