The Strong Housing Market Continues here in Kitchener Waterloo

It was another healthy month here in Waterloo region for home sales with prices continuing to rise and many Buyers being left to wonder if they will ever be able to finally buy that elusive home. The Multiple offers continue to show up everywhere. Demand is certainly far outweighing supply at this point. A strong appetite for home ownership combined with slimmer inventory levels means it’s a sellers market and its here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Here are some stats:

Last month a total of 577 residential properties sold in KitchenerWaterloo and area though the Multiple Listing System (MLS®), an increase of 24.4 percent compared to October of 2015, and an all-time high for the month. October’s sales included 359 single detached homes (up 18.9% compared to October 2015) and 130 condominium type units (up 28.7%) which include any property regardless of style. Sales also included 41 semi-detached homes (down 105 percent) and 39 freehold townhouses (up 2.6 percent).

Record breaking sales are also being tallied on a year-to-date basis with 5,818 residential transactions compared to 4,920 during the same period in 2015, representing an increase of 18.3 percent. Conversely, inventory levels are low with only 729 active residential listings on the market to the end of October, a decline of 11 percent compared to the previous month, and 53.9 percent below the same period last year.

The average price of all residential properties sold in October was $408,067 a 12.7 percent increase over 2015. Detached homes sold for an average price of $478,685, an increase of 14.3 percent compared to October 2015. During this same period, the average sale price for an apartment style condominium was $225,221, an increase of 5.6 percent. Town homes and semis sold for an average of $307,294 (up 17.6 percent) and $329,966 (up 23.9 percent) respectively.

The median price of all residential properties sold in October increased 17.2 percent to $375,000, and the median price of a detached home during the same period increased 16.8 percent to $438,000.

New measures by the federal government which introduced a mortgage rate “stress test” on all new insured mortgages took effect on October 17, 2016. While the overall impact of these changes is yet to be fully understood, It is likely that some first-time homebuyers rushed to purchase prior to the stress test coming into effect.

If you have been thinking of selling or have any questions on things give me a call  and we can  sit down  and discuss some different options and strategies for your family to be competitive in the new housing market that we are experiencing.

You can contact me at 519-497-4646 or  email direct to kevinbaker@kwhometeam.ca

Thanks and enjoy the fall weather.

Kevin