It appears the rise in interest rates may be beginning to have an effect on the Waterloo Region real estate market again.
In July, sale prices dropped in the region for the first time in four months, according to data released by the Waterloo Region Association of Realtors.
They say the average cost of buying a home in the area was $795,778 in July, which is down 5.2 per cent from June. While the price was down compared to June, it was still an increase year-over-year of 5.8 per cent.
In lockstep with the increase, the cost of a detached home was $920,635 in July which is down 84.4 per cent from a month earlier but up 8.8 per cent from July 2022.
While prices were down in July, it was not due to a lack of sales as WRAR says that 607 homes changed hands in the area last month which is up 10.4 per cent from July 2022 but down 22.6 per cent from the previous five-year average.
“The Waterloo Region residential real estate market experienced some growth in terms of unit sales and supply in July, with home prices showing moderate fluctuations,” WRAR president Megan Bell stated.
“Despite the Bank of Canada’s most recent interest rate hike, we saw more sellers coming off the sidelines with new listing activity reaching its second highest level for the month of July in over a decade.”
A total of 1,194 new listings hit the market in July, which is a slight increase of 1.4 per cent year over year but well above the ten-year average for the month.
At the end of the month there were still 1,107 homes on the market which is down 14.8 per cent from a year earlier.
While there were plenty of homes sold last month, they are starting to sell at a slower rate as realtors say it took 16 days on average to shift a house in June.