Detached home prices climb $65,000 last month

Sales volume for homes in Waterloo Region hit a record low for the month of March, as average prices rose across all categories.

Data from the Waterloo Region Association of Realtors shows 596 homes were sold through the association’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system last month.

That’s a drop of 3.2 per cent over March 2023 and 33.4 per cent below the previous five-year average for the month.

Still, an association news release said the first three months of the year saw an eight per cent increase in the number of sales compared to the same period last year.

“While home sales in Waterloo Region hit a record low for March in over two decades, we’re also witnessing a positive trend,” association president Christal Moura said.

“Over the past three months, prices and activity have started to pick up, and I expect this momentum will continue into the spring.”

After retreating slightly in February, average prices jumped in all residential categories last month.

The average price for all residential properties sold last month was $806,279, up 6.6 per cent compared to February’s results — a month-tomonth increase of just over $50,000 — and 3.6 per cent higher year-over-year.

The average price for a detached home was $954,342, up 7.3 per cent over February — an increase of nearly $65,000 — and 4.9 per cent higher than March 2023.

For the remaining categories, townhouses saw the largest monthto-month gain, up six per cent from February to $667,810, and an increase of 4.4 per cent over March 2023.

Apartment-style condominiums sold for an average of $483,085 last month, rising 5.3 per cent above February’s figures but up just 0.3 per cent from a year ago.

Semis saw a month-to-month increase of one per cent to $680,039 — that’s down 2.9 per cent

compared to March 2023.

“Home prices have been gradually increasing since December, which is a typical trend,” Moura said.

“The rate and extent of further increases will depend on the willingness and patience of potential home buyers who have been waiting for lower interest rates before making their purchase.”

Many analysts don’t think the Bank of Canada will move to lower rates before June, leaving some potential buyers feeling “stuck in limbo,” she said.

While the number of homes coming to the market is still below historic levels, inventory is rising compared to last year.

A total of 1,023 new listings were added to the local MLS system in March, up 18.7 per cent compared to last year but 15.9 per cent below the previous 10-year average for the month.

There were 1,081 homes available for sale at the end of March — that’s 54 per cent higher yearover-year, but about one per cent lower than the previous 10-year March average.

The number of months of inventory — the time it would take to sell the current inventory at the current pace — stood at 1.9 months at the end of March, more than 58 per cent higher than a year ago.

It took an average of 19 days to sell a property last month, right around the previous five-year average of 18 days.