Real Estate statistics overview for February 2023
Welcome to my March market update. We will dive into different statistics for the month of February to see if there are any trends and market indicators emerging from our data. Stick with me as we will try to decipher if the market conditions are good for selling or buying.
Inventory Rate
Single Detached Homes: 1 month worth of inventory (1 month down from January), making it a sellers’ market. Semi Detached Homes: 1 month worth of inventory (no change from January), making it a sellers’ market. Townhouses (including condominiums): 1 month worth of inventory (1 month down from January), making it a sellers’ market. Condominium Apartments: 4 months worth of inventory (1 month down from January), making it a buyers’ market.
Number of Active & Sold Listings
Single Detached Homes: 376 active listings and 255 sold listings, that’s up 34 active listings from January and up 80 in number of sold listings from January.
Semi Detached Homes: 29 active listings and 28 sold listings, that’s up 7 active listings from January and up 11 in number of sold listings from January.
Townhouses (including condominiums): 111 active listings and 100 sold listings, that’s down 20 active listings from January and up 39 in number of sold listings from January.
Condominium Apartments: 199 active listings and 55 sold listings, that’s up 13 active listings from January and up 13 in number of sold listings from January.
Average Sale Price & Number of Days it Took to Sell
Single Detached Homes: The average sale price was $879,577.00 in February, and that is down 1% versus January (while January saw an increase of 7% from December), it took on average 16 days to sell and that is 8 days less versus January.
Semi Detached Homes: The average sale price was $667,250.00 in February, and that is up 2.5% versus January (while January saw an increase of 5.2% from December), it took on average 18 days to sell and that is 3 days less versus January.
Townhouses (including condominiums): The average sale price was $644,019.00 in February, and that is up 2.9% versus January (while January saw an increase of 2% from December), it took on average 22 days to sell and that is 2 days longer versus January.
Condominium Apartments: The average sale price was $461,322.00 in February, and that is up 5% versus January (while January saw an increase of 3.8% from December), it took on average 33 days to sell and that is 6 days less versus January.
Sale to List Price Ratio
Single Detached Homes: 100.2%, up 1.3% since January.
Semi Detached Homes: 100.2%, up 1.3% since January.
Townhouses (including condominiums): 101.1%, up 2.6% since January.
Condominium Apartments: 98.2%, up 0.3% since January.
Interest Rate Update
Prime Rate: 6.7%, Variable Rate: 5.7%, CMHC 5 year fixed as low as 4.79%, with 20% down: 4.79% with 25 year ammortization. All on credit approval.
We will also have an announcement from the Bank of Canada on March 8th.* The consensus is that there will not be an interest rate hike this time, but most experts agree that we will have one more coming at some point this year, most likely during summertime. I’ll make sure to keep you all up to date. The best way to stay in the loop is to sign up for my newsletter (below in the footer:)).
Looking at the numbers above, what do we see? It is still early in the year for definite trends to emerge, but I believe we are heading into a strong spring market. It is a very good time for buyers to buy. We do not have that many listings available, and we are starting to see multiple offers but we are also seeing prices going up, however slightly. If that continues then now, really is the time to buy.
Another point to consider for buyers; there are a lot of offers accepted with conditions, despite multiple offers. What do our February stats mean for sellers? The trend is not what we’ve seen during covid times, that’s for sure, however the fact that we see an increase in sales and pricing, as slight as they may be, and the fact that we are still experiencing a shortage of properties, if your situation is such that you need to sell I would suggest getting your property ready for the market. With all that being said, please keep in mind the data in this market update is for the entire Region of Waterloo, and there are some nuances between different cities and neighbourhoods, so if you would like to get a better understanding of what is happening in your area, please reach out to me, I’ll be more than happy to help.
*update:
Bank of Canada maintains policy rate, continues quantitative tightening
March 8, 2023
The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at 4½%, with the Bank Rate at 4¾% and the deposit rate at 4½%. The Bank is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening.
