Housing sales remain slow in June in Waterloo Region, prices fall: Realtors

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Waterloo Region Association of Realtors had merged with realtors in Mississauga, Hamilton, Simcoe County and Burlington, among other areas, to form the Cornerstone Association of Realtors.

While the new group now represents a much larger area, it has told Global News it will continue to provide a monthly look into the local real estate market.

On Thursday, Cornerstone released the numbers for Waterloo Region in June and the slow period the area real estate market has experienced throughout the spring has continued.

“The Waterloo Region housing market is cooling, with a year-over-year decrease in home sales in June, while the number of homes for sale is rising, offering more inventory to buyers,” Cornerstone spokesperson Christal Moura stated.

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In June, 674 homes changed hands in the area, which is drop of 13.7 per cent from a slow June 2023. It is also 24.8 per cent below the previous 10-year average for June.

While sales were down, prices also dropped in the region as the average home sold for $790,945, which is 3.3 per cent below May’s average of  $818,507. It is also down 5.8 per cent below June of last year.

Moura noted that the drop in prices has tilted the market towards buyers.

“The silver lining is this presents a more favourable pricing environment for buyers, with more choices, greater flexibility, and the potential to negotiate better deals,” she stated.

While the sales market has slowed, properties flooded onto the market in June with 1,431 listings created. This represents a 7.6 per cent jump year over year and a 10.6 per cent rise above the average for the previous 10 years.

At the end of the month, there were 1,790 homes listed on the market, which is 75.5 per cent above last June and 31.9 per cent above the previous 10-year average.

There was 3.3 months’ supply available at the end of the month, a number that shows how long it would take to sell all the properties listed at the current rates of sales.

The Realtors pointed out that this number was buoyed by a slow condo market that had 6.5 months’ worth of inventory available at month’s end.