No one will be too surprised to hear that the coronavirus pandemic has slowed real estate sales in the Kitchener-Waterloo market but that has not stopped prices from rising, according to local realtors.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors (KWAR) says home prices increased 7.3 per cent over the previous year to an average price of $568,738.
While that seems like a hefty jump considering we are in the midst of a pandemic, the prices are lower than they were in March, when numbers showed that homes were selling for $583,752 on average.
KWAR president Colleen Koehler says that while the market became more balanced in April, there has not been a drastic drop in prices.
“We have witnessed some buyers expecting homes to sell at greatly reduced amounts, and frankly, that’s simply not the case. Home values have remained stable which we expect will continue,” she said in a statement.
Home sales in Kitchener-Waterloo in April reached their lowest point since the financial crisis over a decade ago, according to the KWAR.
The association says there were 227 homes sold last month, the lowest total since December 2008, and a 63.6 per cent decrease over a year ago.
“It goes without saying the current pandemic has had a major impact on the number of sales we would normally see in April,” Koehler said in a statement. “With everyone doing their part to flatten the curve and doing their best to self-isolate, the buying and selling of homes have been greatly reduced.”
A total of 145 detached homes changed hands in April, which is a 63.3 per cent year-over-year drop. Just 22 condos (down 71.1 per cent), 44 townhouses (down 61.1 per cent) and 16 semi-detached homes were sold last month.
A lack of inventory likely took a heavy toll on those numbers.
Only 417 new listings hit the market in April, 54.8 per cent fewer than a year earlier and well below the 10-year April average of 937 listings.