Waterloo Region’s 2021 Real Estate Year in Review
Happy New Year! I truely hope that you and your family enjoyed a wondeful holiday season and 2022 brings you a renewed sense of normal that we are all certainly looking forward too after the last couple of years.
2021 was another crazy year for Real Estate here in Waterloo Region. We blew away records in sales volume and the average price for a single detached home surpassed the 1 million dollar mark for the first time ever.
Lets look at all the numbers…
The 7,581 residential homes sold in 2021 represent an increase of 18.3 per cent compared to last year’s record-setting number of sales that ended the year 2020.
On a monthly basis, there were 344 residential homes sold last month, a decrease of 1.7 percent compared to the same month last year.
Home sales in 2021 have absolutely smashed last year’s record by more than 1,000 units. While this is a good time to sell your home, it remains a tremendously difficult market for buyers. Affordability for all types of housing within our community continues to be a concern which we expect to continue throughout 2022.
Total residential sales in December included 177 detached (down 12.4 percent from December 2020), and 56 condominium units (down 11.1 percent). Sales also included 23 semi-detached homes (up 9.5 percent) and 88 townhouses (up 37.5 percent).
For 2021 total residential sales included 4,272 detached (up 10.8 percent), and 1,127 condominium units (up 43.4 percent). Sales also included 578 semi-detached homes ( up 31.1 percent) and 1,602 townhouses ( up 20.9 percent).
In December, the average sale price for all residential properties in the Kitchener-Waterloo area was $842,014. This represents a 32.5 per cent increase over December 2020 and a 2.5 per cent increase compared to November 2021.
- The average price of a detached home was $1,021,353. This represents a 34.7 per cent increase from December 2020 and an increase of 3.4 percent compared to November 2021.
- The average sale price for an apartment-style condominium was $500,352. This represents an increase of 30.6 percent from December 2020 and an increase of 1.0 percent compared to November 2021.
- The average sale price for a townhouse was $717,475. This represents a 39.4 per cent increase from December 2020 and an increase of 2.1 percent compared to November 2021.
- The average sale price for a semi was $770,246. This represents an increase of 33.5 percent compared to December 2020 and an increase 7.3 percent compared to November 2021.
On a year-to-date basis, the average sale price for all residential properties in the Kitchener-Waterloo area increased 25.8 per cent to $770,596 compared to 2020.
- The year-to-date average price of a detached home was $920,726. This represents a 28.0 percent increase compared to 2020.
- The year-to-date average sale price for an apartment-style condominium was $448,208. This represents an increase of 17.3 compared to 2020
- The year-to-date average sale price for a townhouse was $632,875. This represents an increase of 34.9 percent compared to 2020.
- The year-to-date average sale price for a semi was $673,543. This represents an increase of 29.4 percent compared to 2020.
KWAR cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing long-term trends but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) provides the best way to gauge price trends because averages are strongly distorted by changes in the mix of sales activity from one month to the next.
The MLS® HPI composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Kitchener-Waterloo was $851,700 in December. This represents a 32.1 per cent increase over December 2020 and a 3.2 per cent increase compared to November 2021.
- The benchmark price for a detached home was $945,600. This represents a 33.5 per cent increase from December 2020 and 3.3 percent increase compared to November 2021.
- The benchmark price for an apartment-style condominium was $412,700. This represents a 21.1 percent increase from December 2020 and a 3.7 percent increase compared to November 2021.
- The benchmark price for a townhouse is $647,000. This represents a 40.0 percent increase from December 2020 and a 3.0 per cent increase compared to November 2021.
There were 291 new listings added in KW and area last month, an increase of 1.7 percent compared to December of last year, and a 14.6 percent increase compared to the previous ten-year average for December.
On a year-to-date basis, there were 9,040 new listings added in KW and area in 2021, an increase of 11.5 percent compared to 2020, and a 3.8 percent increase compared to the previous ten-year annual average.
The total number of homes available for sale in active status at the end of December was 104, a decrease of 45.3 percent compared to December of last year, and 85.7 percent below the previous ten-year average of 727 listings for December.
The number of months of inventory touched an all-time low of 0.2 in December. Inventory has settled at under 1 month for fourteen consecutive months. The number of months of inventory represents how long it would take to sell off current inventories at the current rate of sales.
Supply not keeping up with demand was the new normal in 2021, and unfortunately I expect that will continue to be the case in the year ahead. We need all levels of government working together to bring more supply into the housing market.
The average number of days to sell in December stayed at 10 days, compared to 16 days in December 2020 and a previous 5-year average of 28 days.
The average days to sell in 2021 was 10 days, compared to 16 days in 2020 and a previous 5-year average of 22 days.
If you are thinking of buying or selling in the coming months, wonder what the neighbor sold for, or have any questions at all, give me a call, text at 519-497-4646 or shoot me an email to kevinbaker@kwhometeam.ca.
Have a wonderful January and enjoy all the winter activities the region has to offer.
Kevin
KITCHENER WATERLOO HOMES ONLINE.com 