While it’s definitely still a sellers’ market for home sales in Greater Sudbury, the situation is starting to level off, said the chair of the Greater Sudbury Real Estate Board.
Tyler Peroni is in his seventh year selling homes as a real estate agent. He is currently halfway through his term as chair of the board.
Currently, homes are selling, on average, about six per cent over asking price. The highest the average has hit in the past year has been about eight per cent, he said, although there are homes that have sold for much more than that over the asking price.
“The market has started to slow down a bit since March, but it’s still a huge sellers’ market,” said Peroni.
It’s still all about supply and demand, he said. There are too many people looking to buy the limited number of homes on the market. It has left potential home buyers in bidding wars. There have been instances where potential buyers have put in multiple offers on multiple homes and have walked away empty handed.
“We need a couple hundred listings to help balance things out,” he said.
From Jan. 1 to the end of July this year, there were 2,368 listings in Greater Sudbury with 1,925 sales.
Compared to last year, in the same time frame, there were 1,864 listings and 1,399 sales.
There are many factors why people are not selling their homes, Peroni said.
“There is no one answer, but what I have seen out there is the fear of what’s next,” Peroni said. “For someone who sells their home right now for $300,000, and they are looking to upgrade to a larger home, they are going to also be paying higher prices, and it’s mostly the fear of that unknown that is stopping them from listing.”
While the talk of the town right now is southern Ontario investors scooping up rental properties in Greater Sudbury and jacking up rent prices as a result, that’s not really the case with home sales, Peroni said.
“We estimate that only about 10 per cent of buyers do not live in Greater Sudbury, while the vast majority of buyers are local,” he said.
Nationally, home sales were down between May and June 2021, said the Canadian Real Estate Association. National home sales declined by 8.4 per cent on a month-over-month basis in June. It’s the third straight monthly slowdown since activity hit an all-time record in March.
However, on a year-over-year basis, the number of transactions in June 2021 was up 13.6 per cent.
Ontario is seeing an average year-over-year rate of price growth in the 30-per-cent range, said CREA.
“While there is still a lot of activity in many housing markets across Canada, things have noticeably calmed down in the last few months,” said Cliff Stevenson, chair of CREA. “There remains a shortage of supply in many parts of the country, but at least there isn’t the same level of competition among buyers we were seeing a few months ago.”
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average home price was a little over $679,000 in June 2021, up 25.9 per cent from the same month last year. The national average price is also heavily influenced by sales in Greater Vancouver and the GTA, two of Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from calculations cuts more than $135,000 from the national average price.
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.
Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.
The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.
More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.
Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.
An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
