Home sales brisk in Kitchener-Waterloo in October as prices continue climb

While home sales in Kitchener-Waterloo in October did not match the crazy days of 2016, they were still above historical averages.

Home sales were brisk in the area in October as 514 changed hands, an increase of 7.8 per cent from a year earlier, according to stats released by the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors (KWAR).

“It was a stronger-than-average October for home sales and listing activity,” KWAR President Tony Schmidt said in a release. “Gradually increasing interest rates could be nudging both buyers and sellers from the sidelines of the housing market.”

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The prices of homes continued to climb in October, led by another large jump in condo sale prices.

Year over year, the average home price in Kitchener-Waterloo rose 7.7 per cent in October. Condo prices were up 24.1 per cent to $310,215 while the average price of a detached home rose 6.2 per cent, year over year, to $576,731.

Townhomes and semis also saw a big rise in prices, as well. The average cost of a townhome in Kitchener-Waterloo was $387,602 (up 10.9 per cent) and a semi was $403,750 (up 13.8 per cent).

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“Not surprisingly we’re seeing the biggest surges in average price happening in the denser forms of housing such as condos,” Schmidt said. “This is partly a reflection of demand being strongest in the entry-level price ranges as well as there being more newly constructed units in the mix.”

There were 760 new home listings in the area last month, 14 per cent more than a year earlier and 12.7 per cent over the 10-year average of 674.