Real eState

Sarnia-Lambton real estate sales hit 10-year low in 2023: realtor group

Published

10 months ago

January 11, 2024

Sarnia-area real estate sales dropped to their lowest level in at least a decade in 2023, the Sarnia-Lambton Association of Realtors says.

Jeremy Guerette. a 22-year veteran Sarnia realtor, became president of the Sarnia-Lambton Association of Realtors Jan. 1. Photo by Paul Morden /The Observer

Sarnia-area real estate sales dropped to their lowest level in at least a decade in 2023, the Sarnia-Lambton Association of Realtors says.

There were 1,412 sales during the year, down 6.8 per cent from the year before, with a total value of $759.3 million, down 8.1 per cent from 2022, the group said.

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The 71 sales in December totalled just over $40 million, 3.4 per cent lower than the same month in 2022.

The normal “December slowdown” in the market was “a little . . . exacerbated just because of the type of market we were in,” said new association president Jeremy Guerette.

Year-end numbers “came in pretty much the way I expected,” he said. “It was a little slower in the sales, which I think just kind of capped off the year we had.”

“I think interest rates are the main reason,” Guerette said. “I think that’s pretty much what’s driving uncertainty in the market.”

The Bank of Canada, which had been increasing interest rates to battle inflation, held its benchmark lending rate steady at five per cent in December — its third straight hold after a series of increases beginning in early 2022, when the rate sat at 0.25 per cent.

A “drastic change in tone from the Bank of Canada” in 2022 as it “honed in” on inflation “kind of made everybody nervous,” Guerette said.

Because of that, “some people (are) on the sidelines,” unsure about where mortgage rates are going, he said.

Looking ahead, the central bank’s tone appears to be changing and “solidifying on either stable rates or maybe even a little down in 2024,” Guerette said. “That should be helpful, provided nothing suddenly changes.”

If the market stabilizes, “which I feel like it might, then we’ll see a lot more buyers maybe feel a little bit better about getting back in the market,” he said.

Guerette, who’s been a realtor in Sarnia for 22 years, took over from Rob Longo as association president Jan. 1.

“I’ll try to fill Rob’s shoes,” he said. “He did a good job.”

While the local market has slowed and the number of properties for sale has been growing, the median home price remained steady through 2023, he said.

The year-to-date median price in December was $485,700, off one per cent from December 2022.

“We had a little bit of a roller-coaster ride from 2020 and 2019, all the way to 2022, but then things seemed to have steadied out” through last year, Guerette said. “I feel like that was a good sign.”

Homes were on the market for a median 35 days at the end of 2023 and the number of listings represented nearly five months of inventory, the association said.

Overall, homes sold locally in December for just over 96 per cent of asking price.

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Real eState

Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Real eState

Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

Published

3 weeks ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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B.C. voters face atmospheric river with heavy rain, high winds on election day

Published

3 weeks ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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