The Kitchener-Waterloo region will see intensified demand in the coming season, according to a new study by Zoocasa.
The phenomenon will be especially apparent in the lower price brackets. Affordable options are the region’s strongest attractions, with many buyers fleeing the inflamed costs of the Toronto market.
Average prices in the detached home segment stood at $615,568 last month, markedly below the $619,307 seen in the City of Toronto.
Zoocasa’s analysis noted that Kitchener-Waterloo has become “a popular real estate destination for both locals and buyers on the move, whose buying power is supported by its strong education- and health-based jobs market.”
Moreover, the region remains a sellers’ market. Overall home sales in the region slowed down by 9.1% year-over-year in August.
“Sales-to-new-listings activity remains steep, creating an increasingly competitive marketplace for prospective buyers, setting the stage for an active fall market.”
In Kitchener, 14 out of 19 of its neighbourhoods assessed by Zoocasa lean towards being sellers’ markets, with sales-to-new-listings ratios (SNLR) of 61% or more. Of these locales, Grand River North had the highest ratio at 120%, up 57% annually. This represented a 20% increase in sales and a 37.5% decline in new listings, with an average price of $515,867.
According to Zoocasa’s Kitchener-Waterloo sales representative Marcia Fukudome, Kitchener is one of the best destinations for both first-time buyers and investors, considering its overall affordability.
In Waterloo, available new listings were far outstripped by sales activity, impelling a high level of buyer competition. Fully 11 of the 13 neighbourhoods in the area had a 61% SNLR on average, with the highest being Lakeshore North’s 131% ratio and a year-over-year increase of 66%. Sales went up by 54% while new listings dropped by 23%, with an average price of $484,161.
Fukudome predicted that homes listed under $500,000 will enjoy intensified demand this fall.
“The recently unveiled First-Time Home Buyer Incentive along with slowing mortgage rates will make homes in this area more affordable and attractive to first-time home buyers.”
Ephraim is currently a journalist at Mortgage Broker News, Real Estate Professional and Canadian Real Estate Wealth.
Ephraim is a highly accomplished news reporter whose work has been published across North America and the Asia Pacific region. Before joining Key Media, Ephraim spent eight years working as a journalist with Reuters TV. His areas of expertise include real estate, mortgage, and finance.
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