Waterloo Region Residential Sales Hit All Time High in May

All I have to say is WOW!!!!  What an incredible month for the Kitchener Waterloo and Cambridge Real Estate Markets. The market is on fire with many homes selling over list price in multiple offer situations.  The buyers seemed to be lined up out the door if you have a property under the 430k mark in certain neighborhoods of town.

Here are some of the stats from the past month.  There were 752 properties sold in KW and area which represents a 19.6% increase compared to May of 2015, and a 27.7% increase compared to the 5-year average for the month of May.

This is the first time since 2007 that residential sales in May exceeded seven hundred units. Year-to-date sales for 2016 also hit an all-time high with 2,776 homes sold in the first five months of the year, 19.2% above last year’s total for the same period and 21.0% above the 5-year average.

Active listings however are down in comparison from last year. Currently, the number of active residential listings on the KWAR’s MLS® System to the end of May is at 1,283 which are 26.1% lower compared to same period last year. This translates to 35.2% fewer available listings on the market today than the same time last year.

So what does that mean?  If you are thinking of selling your home now is a great time to do it. Unfortunately you may also wish to buy and that could prove challenging with the lower than usual inventory buyers often find themselves competing with other buyers, for the same property.

With steady interest rates expected into the later part of 2016 and early 2017,  and steady employment growth, the region is poised to continue the demand for housing and we should see balanced market conditions return for the foreseeable future in Waterloo Region.

May’s sales included 474 single detached homes (up 15.6%) and 166 condominium type units (up 37.2%) which include any property regardless of style (ie. semis, townhomes, apartment, detached etc). Sales also included 47 Semi-detached homes (down 11.3%) and 56 freehold townhouses (up 27.3%). The average sale price of all residential sales increased 7.3% to $378,248 compared to May 2015. Single detached style homes sold for an average price of $438,708 an increase of 9.8% compared to last year. The average sale price for an apartment style condominium was $221,073, a decrease of 1.2%. Townhomes and semis sold for an average of $277,355 (up 1.1%) and $296,751 (up 10.2%) respectively.

If you have any questions on the stats or are thinking of making a move in the near future, please give me a call and we can sit down, grab a coffee and look at your options.

Have a great week!

Kevin