The Sarnia-Lambton real estate market, fuelled by low interest rates and rising house prices, continues to post new monthly highs for dollar volume.
The average price of a single family home in September was $430,000, up nearly 26 per cent compared to the same month last year.
Through the first three quarters of 2020 the average residential price is $395,000, up 17 percent.
Real Estate Board President Donna Mathewson said 197 properties with a total dollar volume just over $71 million sold last month.
“Because this year is different, I think we need to focus on comparing to this year only when we’re looking at stats currently, and we did have a decrease in September compared to August,” said Mathewson. “I think that’s reflective of people getting back into a routine, kids are back to school. They’re getting back to what’s going to be our new normal. So, we did see a slight decrease, although sales were still really strong in September.”
There were 214 listings, compared to 208 in September 2019.
“We only saw an increase of six listings over what we had last year. So, the amount of listings that are coming on seems to be keeping in line with what we saw last year in 2019.”
Mathewson said the prime price point between $200,000 and $400,000 is still extremely popular.
“The banks are recording historical low interest rates, where you can get five-year mortgages under two per cent, which is something we couldn’t even fathom that we would see. So, it’s making that price range really viable for first time home buyers.”
Mathewson said they’re noticing people becoming more comfortable attending open houses.
“If you’re attending an open house, we certainly welcome you, but please come prepared with a mask and prepared to give your contact details so that we can have them for contact tracing, as well as possibly wait in line if there is too many people in the home. We want to make sure that we can control safe distancing.”
There were 12 houses over $750,000 that sold in September.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says Montreal-area home sales rose 9.3 per cent in August compared with the same month last year, with levels slightly higher than the historical average for this time of year.
The association says home sales in the region totalled 2,991 for the month, up from 2,737 in August 2023.
The median price for all housing types was up year-over-year, led by a six per cent increase for the price of a plex at $763,000 last month.
The median price for a single-family home rose 5.2 per cent to $590,000 and the median price for a condominium rose 4.4 per cent to $407,100.
QPAREB market analysis director Charles Brant says the strength of the Montreal resale market contrasts with declines in many other Canadian cities struggling with higher levels of household debt, lower savings and diminishing purchasing power.
Active listings for August jumped 18 per cent compared with a year earlier to 17,200, while new listings rose 1.7 per cent to 4,840.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.