DEMAND FOR PRICIER HOMES PUSHING UP AVERAGES IN KITCHENER-WATERLOO AND AREA

From Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Board
DEMAND FOR PRICIER HOMES PUSHING UP AVERAGES IN KITCHENER-WATERLOO AND AREA
KITCHENER-WATERLOO, ON (June 3, 2010) – Increased demand for more expensive homes pushed the average price of detached homes up 11.2 percent to $338,209 on a year-over-year comparison.
There was a 50.7 percent increase in the number of homes selling for more than $400,000, with a total of 98 transactions through the Multiple Listing System (MLS®) of the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board (KWREB) in May compared to 65 transactions in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Real Estate Association recently announced its revised forecast for national activity. The average home price is expected to climb 1.6 percent for homes across Canada, reaching a record $325,400. To date in 2010, the average price of all homes sold in Kitchener-Waterloo and area has increased 10.3 percent to $ 283,423.
Last month, there was a total of 703 sales of all property types, a solid May, according to the President of the KWREB, and evidence of continued strength in the local real estate market.
May’s residential sales included 432 detached homes, 114 condominium units, 58 semis, and 44 townhouses.
“2010 is poised to be a record breaking year for home sales,” said, Ted Scharf, President of the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board. “Since January, sales have been posting well ahead of all previous years on a year-to-date basis.”
With the Bank of Canada’s recent decision to raise its overnight lending rate by 25 basis points to a half a percent, experts are predicting that interest rates will rise, but slowly, keeping home financing within reach for many consumers.
May’s activity brings the total number of residential sales on a year-to-date basis to 3,095, a 25.5 percent increase over 2009.