Home prices remained at dizzying rates in Kitchener-Waterloo in March but the area did not see a massive spike as it did a month earlier, according to realtors.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors (KWAR) says the average home sold for $765,393 which was a slight uptick from February when the average was $752,289.
These two figures are still a big leap from December ($634,545) as well as a year ago in March ($583,752) when the coronavirus pandemic first took hold in Ontario.
The numbers drift even higher when one looks at detached homes as the average cost in March 2021 was $899,460 which is more than $200,000 higher than the $679,728 KWAR reported a year earlier.
On the plus side for buyers, detached homes took a slight dip last month from February when they sold on average for $910,126.
“On a year-over-year basis we continued to see huge price increases in the average price in March, however compared to February, we are seeing some signs that perhaps prices may be starting to stabilize a bit,” said KWAR president Nicole Pohl.
The stability may have in part been aided by a more ample supply of homes being available.
KWAR says 993 houses were sold in March, which is well above the previous record established in 2017.
“This is the first time we’ve sold more than 900 homes in a single month,” Nicole Pohl said.
“The second-highest number of sales occurred in May 2017 when there were 816 sales.”
Last year, the realtors were on their way to lofty heights when the pandemic took full effect although 577 residences were still sold.
“We had a very strong start to the month which carried through right up until the province declared its COVID-19 related state of emergency on March 17,” former KWAR president Colleen Koehler said last April.
“Before the pandemic hit our region, I believe we were on pace to set a record number of sales for March with the continuance of high demand, low inventory, and a strong seller’s market.”
The number of sales last month was also paired with a record number of homes hitting the market as 1,359 new listings became active in March.
“The number of new listings last month was the most of any month, and the highest number since May of 2017 when there were 1,271 new listings,” Pohl said.