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Are we really in the Spring Market? From an available number of homes we sure seem to be, however in terms of sales, the buyers have been sitting on the sidelines waiting. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) reported that an abundance of New Listings has been flowing into the market, yet buyers are still waiting to make a move. April’s New Listings of 16,941 were up 29% over levels in March for all home types. Sales on the other hand were up 8% in April over March. Active Listings at the end of April were up 45% over Active Listings at the end of March. Buyers have a huge amount of inventory to choose from. Prices did inch up in April to an average selling price for all home types of $1,156,167 or 3% higher than March and 6.6% year to date.
TRREB President Jennifer Pearce said “Listings were up markedly in April in comparison to last year and last month. Many homeowners are anticipating an increase in demand for ownership housing as we move through the spring. While sales are expected to pick up, many would-be home buyers are likely waiting for the Bank of Canada to actually begin cutting its policy rate before purchasing a home,”
Jason Mercer, TRREB’s Chief Market Analyst said “Generally speaking, buyers are benefitting from ample choice in the GTA resale market in April. As a result, there was little movement in selling prices compared to last year. Looking forward, the expectation is that lower borrowing costs will prompt tighter market conditions in the months to come, which will result in renewed price growth, especially as we move into 2025,”
In Durham Region, New Listings of 1,840 were up 25% over March for all home types and Active Listings at the end of April were 1,549 and were up 68% over March. Average selling prices for all home types was $943,840 up 1% over March and 9.7% year to date. Total sales of 948 homes were up 10% over March. If the ratio of Sales to New Listings remains the same for the month of May, then there will be a significantly larger pool of Active Listings at month end.
( New Listings means new homes that came on the market in the month and Active Listings are those that are available at the end of the month {Active Listings previous month + New Listing current month-(Sales/terminations/expired current month)= Active Listing end of month})
Durham Region detached homes sold on average for $1,048,523 or 1% lower than in March, but up 9.8% this year. Active listings were up 94% from March giving some buyers an enormous inventory of homes from which to choose. The most active communities were Oshawa, Clarington and Whitby where detached home prices were down 4% from March in Clarington, and up 1% in Oshawa and up 7% in Whitby.
At the end of April, Pickering had 144% more Active Listings than in March, Whitby had 129% more Active Listings and Ajax had 105% more Active Listings than in March. If most buyers remain on the sideline (waiting for mortgage rates to drop), then this may have further downward pressure on selling prices as current buyers have more homes to choose from. Ajax selling prices for detached homes were down 3% in April as there was a 100% increase in New Listings. Pickering had 35% more New Listings and prices fell 4% for a detached home.
Each community in Durham Region and across the GTA have their own unique characteristics and market performance will vary by community as shown in the major Durham Region communities in April.
Waiting for mortgage rates to drop may very well cause those buyers to miss out on a GREAT market opportunity RIGHT NOW. As an example, If more buyers enter the market in July, say, after a rate reduction by the Bank of Canada, then its possible that selling prices will rise as inventory get bought up. Plus, the summer months typically have lower new listings so fewer homes to choose from. Fewer homes and more buyers will drive home prices back up and create a market where buyers may be paying more for a home at that time than right now.
In an earlier newsletter, we pointed out that fixed rate mortgage rates have already been declining since October of last year. Its hard to understand what buyers are waiting for with the first Bank of Canada reduction, which will likely only be a .25% drop. Those buyers may miss the best buying opportunity this year, which appears to be right now.
CONTACT US to learn how we can help you get the most out of the current real estate market opportunity. Don’t miss out.