Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season & a happy new year! Below you will find a market update report 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!

Kitchener/Waterloo Market Update for November 2018

Market Update

The numbers are in and here is what happened in November for the Kitchener/Waterloo real estate market.

Sales:

There were 459 sales this month, which is up 14% from last November.

Inventory:

There are currently 946 active listings on the market which is up 8% from last November. There were 603 new listings on the market this November which is basically flat from last year.

Average Sale Price:

The average sale price in the KW was $497,452 which is up 10% from last year.

Let’s dive into more detail –

Detached houses: up 12% from last November.

Attached houses: flat from last November.

Apartment style condos: flat from last November. If we look at the entire year average from condo’s they are up 12% compared to 2017.

List to Sale Ratio:

Houses are selling on average for 99.3 of the list price. Of the houses that are selling, 33% went to multiple offers and sold over asking.

Months of Inventory:

If we look at months of inventory, which is our supply and demand, we have 2.06 months of inventory meaning we are still in a seller’s market.

Right now, under $600,000, we are in a seller’s market with 2 months of inventory on the market. Then between $600,000-$1,000,000, there are just under 3 months of inventory. This is still considered a seller’s market but very close to balanced. In the $1,000,000+ market, there are currently 8 months of inventory which is in a buyer’s market.

Summary:

Overall it was a pretty strong November with both the average sale price and the number of sales up from 2017. Year to date there have been 5241 sales in the Kitchener/ Waterloo region which is tracking 11% down from 2017. The combination of the stress test rules that were implemented in January and interest rate increases have reduced affordability and pulled some buyers out of the market. Due to reduced affordability, we are seeing a higher demand for lower-priced homes and that is why properties priced under $600,000 are in a stronger seller’s market. The real estate market tends to slow in December as we approach the holidays.

For buyers, this is a great time to find a good deal. From a seller’s perspective, this is still a good time for investment properties and homes that are geared towards first-time buyers.

If you are selling a larger family home then you are probably better to wait until the new year. However, I would list earlier in 2019 as we are predicting that the first quarter is going to be when our market is the strongest. This is because of further interest rate increases and the continued tightening of mortgage rules that will likely start to occur in the second quarter of 2019. Not to mention that there will be less selling competition in January and February.

If you have any questions about the Kitchener/Waterloo real estate market. Please comment below and we would be happy to answer them.