Home values see uptick in April
Benchmark selling price in Niagara jumps for the second consecutive month to $654,100
Niagara real estate is getting back on track, with agents seeing an increase in action as interest rates stabilize and demand remains high.
While the spring season usually begins in January and February — when the market traditionally sees a high number of listings — Niagara Association of Realtors president Amy Layton said this year that was not the case. But over the past three weeks, the Niagara Falls real estate agent having “a lot more” conversations around the selling process.
It seems like spring is “just starting.”
“In April, we felt a pick-up in the market for sure … seems to me we have some sellers in preparation mode,” said Layton. “I feel we’ll have more listings moving forward.”
The difference showed up in the association’s monthly real estate statistics.
Month-over-month, Niagara saw an increase in its benchmark price for the second consecutive month, to $654,100 from $641,600 — an increase of 1.95 per cent — which is a “great sign that buyers are active and homes are holding their value,” said Layton.
While new listings were slightly down month-over-month, to 991 from 1,046, a drip of about 6.9 per cent, overall sales in April did not change from March, both seeing 560 units sold.
For the association, another positive sign was the average days on market, which decreased by10 days, now at 31 compared to 41 from March.
Compared to last year’s data, Niagara’s real estate market remains down.
The benchmark price fell 19 per cent, with the average price in April 2022 sitting at $807,900. The number of new sales also fell about 20 per cent year-over-year, to 506 from 707, as did the number of new listings, which decreased 28.3 per cent from April 2022, to 991 from 1,382. The days on market a year ago was 14, compared to 31 in April.
Over the past year, as the market has levelled out and course corrected, a number of buyers and sellers remained on the sidelines. With the Bank of Canada keeping interest rates the same for the second consecutive month, Layton said she is no longer seeing that hesitation from buyers. She is “strongly advising” them to get into the market before prices go back up.
“Residential real estate is very much based on emotions and feelings,” she said. “The buyers who were already there were joined by those who felt good now about jumping in.”
She is, however, seeing hesitation from the seller’s side, particularly those who want to downsize.
“They are worried about where they will go as there is competition still in the lower price points,” said Layton. “The irony is we have (three- to four-) bedroom family homes occupied by folks who want a smaller home, and we have people who want to buy these larger family homes, but the seller is worried they won’t be able to find something to move into.”
In the lower price range, below $600,000, Niagara’s market is tightening and homes in that category are again seeing multiple offers. While all homes and price points are in demand, detached homes are “always high” on the list.
What the market needs is more listings in that price range to “level out,” and Layton said it requires individuals who purchased homes five years ago to use their “large amount of their current home equity” to move up.
“They’ll likely get a good price for their home as first-timers and downsizers want it, and they get a bigger home to build even more equity,” she said. “It’s a win-win.”
But Niagara — like many regions — simply needs more inventory, because as demand grows price increases. There are a number of housing projects under construction, but it takes years to be completed and “we need them now.”
Expectations are that summer will see moderate increases in both new listings and sales, so Layton said if people are looking at buying a home they should do it soon.
“Generally speaking, summer is a slow time for real estate as people go on vacations and enjoy the outdoors,” she said. “I do believe we are going to have a very busy fall, however. If I were buying a home this year, I’d do it by summer.”