Home buyers facing high demand, low inventory
High demand and low inventory pushing housing prices up regionally
Real estate sales have tumbled in Windsor and Essex County the first three months of the year, but not because there aren’t any buyers.
The scarcity of available listings is to blame — especially in the under $250,000 price range, where first-time homebuyers are finding almost nothing to choose from. “High demand, low inventory is really the story,” said Chris Alexander, executive vice-president for Re/Max Realty Ltd., who oversees Ontario and Atlantic Canada for the company.
Re/Max issued its spring market outlook report Tuesday, which predicts roughly a 10 per cent increase in sale prices on average this year for the local housing market. But notably there has been a large drop in residential listings. There has been on average 100 to 150 fewer listings the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2017, according to Multiple Listing Service (MLS) stats released by the Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors. Residential units sold over the first two months of this year declined to 641 from 845 for the same period last year — a 24.1 per cent drop, the Re/Max report said. “Prices are up considerably from last year, but that’s due to low inventory and multiple offers,” Alexander said.
The average January-February sale price for the Windsor area jumped to $272,080 from $234,110 for the same two months in 2017 — a 16.2 per cent increase, the Re/ Max report said. Alexander said Windsor is not unique in being a “challenging” market for first-time home buyers. Comparable markets such as London, Kingston and Kitchen er Waterloo have the same issues. “Low inventory, multiple offers and people paying over the asking price is pretty common,” he said. People are wanting to buy homes because jobs are plentiful, thanks in part to previous construction of the Herb Gray Parkway and now the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will launch full construction later this year, the report said. The strong economy is attracting young families from out of town, said Tina Roy, broker for Re/Max Preferred Realty and presidentelect for the realtors association. First-time buyers are competing with out-of-town investors, plus retirees downsizing and moving to the area from larger urban centres. “The ones I am seeing in my business are often originally from here at one time and coming back to this area because of family or their roots,” Roy said. “Some are from the GTA, but others were out west or all over (Canada).
“For first-time buyers, all of that has really hurt them. For some of them, it can take years to find a property they like in good condition — let alone actually landing it. There are just more buyers than sellers right now. We don’t have enough product.”
For those in the market for the first time, Roy’s advice is for them to be patient and to know their budget.
“You need to make sure you have all your ducks in a row for when the right house comes up,” she said. The Re/Max outlook report also mentioned buyers will be looking for homes in areas less prone to floods and with access to green space or parks. It predicts more homes will be sold this year for over $1 million due to an influx of foreign buyers.
The report also lists Lakeshore, Kingsville and LaSalle as “up-andcoming ” neighbourhoods for 2018.