For the very latest on real estate in Guelph and Wellington County, this comprehensive resource has it all.
The Third Quarter Market Report from Royal LePage Royal City Realty reveals the important prices, stats and trends that buyers and sellers need to know.
This fall saw the real estate market in Wellington County continue to adjust to the ever-changing socioeconomic landscape. Times are uncertain and consumer confidence is lower; some of the factors contributing to this include rising interest rates, persistent inflation and two wars.
“We are seeing nervous buyers in the real estate marketplace. Unsure of the future, they are tightening spending and are loath to purchase a home in this climate,” says Jeff Morley, Broker of Record.
In September, sales retreated just over 18% year-over-year and new listings sprung up almost 40% from the year before, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Sales are 36.2% below the five-year average and 37.6% below the ten-year average. Now that inventory has improved and there are fewer sales, we are finally in a more balanced market and prices have stabilized.
The year-to-date average sale price across all housing categories was $824,670, which is down from $935,288 one year ago. For freehold homes, that number was $931,286 (down 12.67% from this time last year). The average sale price for condominiums was $615,117 (down 8.87% from Q3 2022) and for vacant land it was $666,473 (down 50% in that same time frame).
“According to the Home Price Index (HPI), Wellington County benchmark prices are only up about 2.1% year-over-year. That being said, today’s average home price is still 50% higher than it was in September 2018,” says Morley. “Furthermore, homes are still selling. Well-priced and/or unique homes are selling quickly, and we are still seeing strong demand from the first-time homebuyer market and sometimes even competition for homes.”
Canada’s inflation rate decelerated to 3.8% in September, down from 4 per cent in August. Prices seem to be stabilizing. Dr. Sherry Cooper, Chief Economist for Dominion Lending Centres, says that rate hikes are done, but don’t expect to see rate increases until the middle of next year.
“With further economic stability, we expect consumer confidence to return, and with it, buyers,” says Morley. “Housing inventory remains a long-term problem and will only add pressure to the market in the near future.”
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
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.
