The continued boom in the housing market in the Greater Toronto Area continues to push other Ontario markets higher.
“Sales in February were well above what we would see in a typical February,” says James Craig, President of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors.
There were 474 sales through KWAR’s MLS last month, 4.2 per cent higher than a year earlier and well above the 10-year average for the month (405); despite tight inventory.
“Last month’s sales would have been much higher still were it not for the fact that we continue to have a real shortage of listings,” added Craig.
There were just 427 active listings in February compared to 1,226 a year earlier and homes were selling in half the time with days on market slashed to 18 compared to 39 in February 2016.
Prices were pushed higher with a detached single-family home up 30.7 per cent year-over-year to an average $549,691. There was a sharp rise in average prices of townhomes (up 20.6 per cent to $388,721) and semis (up 31 per cent to $369,624). Condo prices rose by a more modest 8.8 per cent to an average $246,736.
“It’s a similar story throughout Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe,” notes Craig. “In their January release, the Canadian Real Estate Association called the region’s imbalance between limited housing supply and robust demand without precedent.”
