Better than expected February in Niagara real estate market
Increases in sales and new listings seen, as well as a slight bump in its benchmark price
With Niagara still in the early months of the calendar year, expectations were its real estate market would see February numbers in line with January statistics.
But instead of holding steady, Niagara saw “pretty good sized increases” in terms of sales and new listings, with a slight bump in its benchmark selling price.
Niagara Association of Realtors released its updated monthly figures this week, reporting 519 sales in February, compared with 357 in January.
It was a 15.6 per cent increase year-over-year, with 449 units sold in February 2023.
New listings also jumped to 1,073 in February, from 882 in January. It was a 31.3 per cent increase from one year ago, which saw 817 new units on the market in February 2023.
Month-over-month, the benchmark price ticked up by half a percentage point, now at $619,600.
And for the first time since May 2023, average days on market decreased, falling to 48 days in February from 54 in January.
Increases across the Niagara real estate board are all signs of market activity heading upwards, said association president Nathan Morrissette.
“It’s been fantastic, to be honest. Kind of where we thought it was going to go last month, trending in that direction toward that spring market,” said Morrissette.
“We’re obviously at a pretty decent price point as well so for a lot of those first-time homebuyers, (it’s) still at that attainable price for them to come to Niagara. With the market assumption that Canada has finished hiking rates, I think everyone that was on the sidelines is acting now.”
On Wednesday, Bank of Canada held its overnight rate at five per cent, with the prime lending rate staying at 7.2 per cent. It has remained at that rate since BoC’s last increase in July 2023.
In its official announcement, the governing council said it’s still concerned about inflation, specifically persistence in underlying inflation. It continues to “focus on the balance between demand and supply in the economy, inflation expectations, wage growth and corporate pricing behaviour.”
But expectations are rates will drop by the end of the year, and Morrissette said it is good the rates were held again. It gives people — those looking to buy or sell — a sense of comfort, after more than a year of unease.
“A lot of buyers are starting to move in and at least start the process now so that they’re ready for when rates drop,” said Morrissette.
“Some buyers are even being a bit savvy and looking into maybe purchasing now while the prices are still pretty good, and getting a shorter term mortgage and then renewing in a year or two when rates could be better.”
Within Niagara’s market, there has been variations between municipalities, but most of it related to number of sales per area. Morrissette said some of the smaller markets might see sales activity or the benchmark fluctuate more than others, because “there’s not enough sales data per month to even it out.”
St. Catharines and Niagara Falls continue to be the main driving forces for regional activity.
“Typically, we’ll see things start there because that’s where the majority of the sales are located. Niagara-on-the-Lake, West Lincoln, those higher price point areas tend to be a bit slower, but they’re a higher benchmark price for a reason because the product is different,” he said.
Detached homes are still what “everyone is trying to obtain right now,” but Morrissette said he is seeing a shift in buyers as they become more open-minded to considering multi-family, middle-housing situations than a few years ago.
In February’s data, Niagara saw 190 new listings month-overmonth but it was essentially equivalent to the increase in sales from January to February, about 160 in total. That kept the region’s inventory relatively the same, which is a “good sign.”
Right now, Niagara has about four and a half to five months of inventory — with six months considered a balanced market.
“(Inventory) stayed the same but the amount of sales increased, so if that keeps going that’s a good thing, we’ll stay balanced,” said Morrissette.
“If our sales go and our inventory starts going down, that’s where the issues come in and we’ll need to help with those new builds and getting things out onto the market.”