Recent data from the Barrie and District Association of Realtors shows a steady decline in house prices from the same time last year in the southern Ontario region.
Compared to January 2022, the association said the number of homes sold in January 2023 was down by 30 per cent.
“Home sales posted the lowest January in nearly a decade to start the year, as activity remains subdued in the face of higher interest rates and economic uncertainty,” said Luc Woolsey, the association’s president.
“On the topic of rates, it seems that the Bank of Canada may have posted its final increase for the time being, although the effect of all rate increases beginning last year will still take some time to be absorbed by the market.”
The association reported that home sales were 21.7 per cent below the five-year average and 17.2 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of January.
The year-to-date average price for homes sold within the city of Barrie in January 2023 was $730,553, down 22 per cent from January 2022.
Residential sales activity numbered 91 units in January 2023, which the association said was a sharp decrease of 39.7 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
Sales activity in surrounding areas posted a decline of 19 per cent on a year-over-year basis and totalled 98 units in January 2023.
“Overall inventory levels are way up since last year, and the market has been flirting with buyer’s territory over the past several months. However, coupled with declining benchmark prices, which are now flattening out, this provides some incentive for sidelined buyers to begin thinking about getting back into the market, perhaps as early as this spring,” Woolsey said.
“What remains to be seen is how long consumer confidence will take to recover from the economic shocks of yesteryear.”
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