Builder’s show home in Alberta gets a full-price offer after four-week wait

105 Sandstone Dr., Okotoks, Alta.

Asking price: $625,000 (January, 2024)

Selling price: $625,000 (February, 2024)

Taxes: $3,297 (2023)

Days on the market: 26

Listing agents: Bryon Howard and Ben Archibald, eXp Realty

The action

This three-bedroom house in Okotoks, about 40 kilometres south of downtown Calgary, was showcased in an online video over the winter holidays to stoke buyer interest before the main marketing program geared up in the new year. The online teaser helped draw people to the listing online but weeks passed without an offer. Nonetheless, the seller stuck to their $625,000 asking price. Finally, one bidder came forward and agreed to match the price.

“It’s a new community in Okotoks, so we didn’t have a ton of comparables,” said agent Ben Archibald. “We tried to shoot a little bit high on the price and that ended up working in our favour.

“We were playing more of a long game because we weren’t in a massive rush [to sell]. But more importantly, we knew inventory was low. We were getting decent activity on the property, and we didn’t want to shoot ourselves in the foot by dropping the price to get a lot more interest.”

What they got

Across the street from a park and pond in a growing community called D’Arcy, this six-year-old house has 1,565 square feet of living space and a double garage on a 32- by 111-foot lot.

The living and dining areas are completely open to a kitchen outfitted with quartz countertops and stainless-steel appliances. An adjacent mud room leads out to a south-facing deck and yard.

The largest bedroom on the second floor has a walk-in closet and one of the home’s four bathrooms.

The basement has an extra bedroom and a recreational space with a wet bar and a gas fireplace.

The agent’s take

“It’s a beautiful house that was previously [the builder’s] show home,” Mr. Archibald said.

“It had a lot of nice upgrades to it, the basement was developed, and it was across from green space.”