Below you will find a Guelph Eramosa & CW Market Update for June which will provide you with information on the local real estate market and recent sales activity in your specific area. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or if you are ready to move forward with the next step!

Guelph Eramosa & CW Market Update for June

Market Update

The second quarter numbers are in for this year and this is what’s going on in the Fergus, Elora, and Center Wellington Guelph Eramosa market right now. If we look at the number of sales we had this quarter, there were 187. This is down 16% from the second quarter of last year where we had 223 sales. However, it is up almost double from the first quarter. We are seeing an increasing number of sales, which is a great sign when the market’s picking up.

Now, looking at the number of active listings on the market, we’ve got 163 active listings currently on the market. That’s up 17% from the same time last year, and it is up from the first quarter. It is normal for us to see a bit more active inventory when we go through the spring into the summer months. Right now, 163 active listings is still a really low amount of inventory for us to have when you look at historical averages for this time of year.

We have 302 new listings, which has remained basically flat from the same time last year where we had 318 new listings hit the market.

Our average sale price right now is at $599,000, which is up 1% from the same time last year where we had $595,000. Now, interestingly enough though, it is down substantially from the first quarter average that we had, which was over $645,000. We’re seeing a higher volume of lower-priced properties sell than we did in the first quarter. That’s pulling down our average, and if you look at the sale price per square foot which is really comparing apples to apples, we’re actually up from the first quarter slightly in each different housing category. It’s showing that prices are going in the right direction.

Diving into more detail looking at different housing types. Detached houses had an average sale price of $651,000, which was up 3% from $630,000 that we had in the second quarter of 2017. Attached houses, had an average sales price of $483,000 which is up 22% from the second quarter of 2017. Now again, if you look at it price per square foot, it’s not that dramatic of a difference.

What we’ve noticed this quarter is we’ve had a few more higher priced semi-detached and attached houses sell than we did last year, but they are still up quite a bit year over year. Looking at condo-style apartments, they had an average sale price of $334,000 in this quarter, which is up 8% from the $309,000 that we saw in 2017. Great amounts of appreciation across all of the housing categories, showing that we’re having growth in all of our price categories, but it’s a lot more stable, consistent growth than what we were seeing compared to 2017 over 2016.

Now, looking at our average list to sale price ratio. Right now houses are selling on average for 99% of asking. When you’re pricing your house in this market, we’re listing at the price that you’re expecting to get, with just a tiny little margin for negotiations. Of the houses that are selling right now, 32% of them are going to multiple offers and selling above list. Now, that is down quite a bit from last year where we had 60%, but again we are in a bit more of a normal market than we were in 2017. Of the houses that are selling above asking right now, 70% of them are listed under $600,000. That shows you the dramatic change in the amount of activity in that under $600,000 price point.

Months of inventory is at .87 months that puts us in a really strong seller’s market. Anything under five months of inventory is considered seller’s market, meaning under one month is very strong. Now, you do have to take this with a grain of salt, because to get the true idea of what’s really going on in the market, you have to look at months of inventory per specific price point, because it does vary quite dramatically. Right now, in the market, anything under $600,000, we’ve got around 1 month of inventory, slightly less than a month of inventory, so it’s a very, very strong seller’s market with very little selection for purchasers. Now, when you go from that $600,000 to a million, there are about 3 to 3 & a half months of inventory. Still a seller’s market, but we’re getting a little closer to a balanced market. When you go over that million dollar price point, we all of a sudden go to 10 months of inventory, meaning it transitions directly into a buyer’s market. That’s pretty normal; in this area, it’s very common for our million dollar plus price point to be a buyer’s market. Overall, when we look at the real estate market right now in the Fergus, Elora, & surrounding Guelph/Eramosa & Center Wellington area, we’re in a much more stable market this time this year, than we were last year. We had just reached our peak market, we were actually seeing prices decline, inventory shoot up. Inventory right now is still very, very tight. There’s not a lot on the market, and if you’re priced under that $600,000, it’s a great time to sell. It’s a very active, strong seller’s market, which means it’s a really good opportunity right now for people who are thinking of up-sizing. Sell your house under that $600,000 price point and then purchase above that price point where there’s a little bit more inventory, you’ve got more of a selection, and you can negotiate a little bit more.

For people who are looking to sell, especially if you’re in that higher end price point, if you’re looking to sell and buy, you are definitely better to sell first. That way you can assure your house is sold in time, and you know exactly how much money you’ve got for it, and then you can go in with a more competitive offer on the purchase. Houses right now are taking a little big longer to sell than they took last year. Last year, a lot of people had the expectation, you put your house on the market & one week later you have multiple offers on it. This market’s not quite like that. It’s normal for us to see, especially in the higher price points, a house to be on the market for a month, sometimes two months before it sells. Meaning you have to have a little bit more patience, but if you’re priced accordingly and your house shows well, you should be able to get a really good price for it.

It’s really important right now also that you’re working with a strong realtor, and one that’s good negotiator, because buyers are coming in right now and they are trying to negotiate. So if your realtor’s not a strong negotiator, you can be leaving thousands of dollars on the table. If you have any questions about the real estate market, please comment below and I’d be happy to answer them for you.