WATERLOO REGION — The local real estate market shows no sign of slowing down, as pent-up demand from buyers continues to outpace supply.
Home sales in Kitchener and Waterloo set a record last month, with the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors reporting 686 transactions — the most ever recorded for the month of August. Sales were up 48 per cent compared to August, 2019; the previous 10-year average for August sales was 470.
“Waterloo Region has had an extremely hot market all summer,” association president Colleen Koehler said in a release. “Following a spring market where most people were observing physical distancing guidelines, sales in August continued to be very active with demand continuing to outstrip supply forcing buyers to act quickly.”
Sales volume was even higher in a record-setting July, when 734 homes changed hands.
Prices continue to show impressive year-over-year gains, with an average price for all properties rising 21 per cent last month to $634,409. Detached homes averaged $734,427 last month, an increase of nearly 19 per cent over last year’s figure.
These prices retracted slightly from July’s results, when the average for all properties was reported at $639,814, and detached homes sold for an average of $745,149.
The median price of all residential properties sold last month was $597,955, an increase of 20.8 per cent over August, 2019, while the median price for a detached home rose 17.4 per cent, to $675,000.
“This summer, local home sales rebounded from the COVID-19 slow down we had in the spring,” Koehler said. “While not as heated as July, August sales were another month for the record books, as home buyers returned to the market with renewed intensity.”
Inventory remains quite low, fuelling multiple offers, bidding wars and quick sales. It took an average of 16 days to sell a home last month, compared to 26 days a year ago.
More sellers are testing the waters, though — 833 new listings came onto the association’s Multiple Listing Service last month, an increase of nearly 44 per cent over August, 2019.
Source:independent
