We’re off to a New Year and many people are wondering, after all the market upheaval in 2022, what changes 2023 will bring. We see a lot of buyers, who have been on the sidelines, wanting to get back into the market. We also believe that prices have hit bottom (barring a world catastrophe) as they’ve been fairly even since September. Most of the price declines occurred from February through August and prices have pretty much flatlined since then. As a real estate team, we can’t pay attention to every headline but we can tell from our pipelines what the upcoming activity level will be, and those pipelines are filling up at a rapid rate. We’re seeing consistent multiple offers in the entry level price ranges, due to low inventory and a high level of showings booked. While the market is strong for Sellers in this price range, it’s also good for Buyers as prices are lower by approximately 25% over a year ago! Here’s’ the lowdown:
-Sales were up slightly over December at 394 units while listings increased by 88% over the same period, which was welcome relief! Still, inventory is historically low.
- - The average price decreased by 25% from January, 2022 across Durham Region. To add a little perspective, the average price was still a respectable 35% above pre-pandemic levels in January, 2020 and 53% higher than five years ago. Even with last year’s decline, due to the increased cost of lending, prices have increased steadily over the long term.
- - Average Sale Price increased very slightly from December levels to $886,649 from $874,456.
- - The Average Sale to List Price ratio stood at 99%. This figure was topping 130% and higher during the frenzy last year. This is a huge boost for today’s Buyer!
- - Months of inventory stood at 8 weeks and the Sales to New Listing Ratio came in at 45.7%, solidly in Balanced Market territory!
- - Average price topped out at $1,312,693 in Uxbridge, followed by Whitby at $1,006,574,
Scugog at $946,667, Pickering at $940,219 and Ajax at $931,346. Oshawa recorded an average price of $775,233 and Clarington was at $821,376. The Top Ten keywords in search engines were: bungalow, suite, parking, inlaw suite, basement suite, waterfront, walkout basement, finished basement, loft and workshop. While sales volume has been the weakest link, we expect it will continue to grow throughout the year, if conditions remain stable. Although short term borrowing costs increased in January by another 25 basis points, negotiated medium term mortgage rates, like the 5 year fixed rate has actually begun to trend lower. We’re cautiously optimistic this trend will continue, increasing affordability for buyers. There’s much to navigate through ever-changing markets. We have decades of experience in all types of markets and all types of properties. Sometimes folks will say to us “I don’t want to waste your time.” It’s never a waste of time to talk about real estate; it’s what we do! Feel free to reach out any time!
Call directly at 905-442-5847 or 905-903-9250. Keith, Lisa & Team.
