Home prices in Waterloo Region stabilizing

The average sale price for homes in Waterloo Region has decreased since prices reached well over $1-million just two years ago.

A new report from the Waterloo Region Association of Realtors (WRAR) stated that the average price for all residential properties during Feb. 2024 was $755,934. It showed that prices have decreased by about 0.7 per cent from the year before. The data comes from their MLS System.

The report also showed 800 new listings were added to the system last month which was an increase of about 18.7 per cent from Feb. 2023.

The length of time a home stayed on market increased in that time from 20 days to 23 days.

“There is definitely a little bit of stability in the market now which I think a lot of people have longed for,” said Tony Johal from the Tony Johal Real Estate Team during an interview with CityNews 570.

At the end of February, the total number of homes available for sale and in an active status was 943, which is an increase of 38.9 per cent from the year before.

“I would definitely say that we are now in a much healthier market than we were a couple of years ago, when it was like a runaway train,” said Johal.

Back in 2022, the average sale price for all property types in Waterloo Region was $1,012,996. That number dropped in 2023 to $761,090, which was a decrease of 24.9 per cent.

Single-family homes also saw one of the largest drops in prices from Feb. 2022. Just a few years ago the average sales price for one of those was $1,188,294, which dropped in 2023 to $885,106. But single-family homes did increase by about 0.5 per cent since than.  

“It’s still a very expensive region for a lot of people to get in to. But it seems as if pricing has definitely stabilized and as we get more and more in to the spring time, we’ll likely see that number drifting upwards,” said Johal.

Spring tends to be a busier time for the housing market as people try to purchase new homes before the start of another school year. Johal said that should wind down though after those spring buyers have left the market.

The report showed that the average price in the region for an apartment-style condominium last month was $459, 455, which increased slightly by 0.2 per cent from the year before. It also showed an increase of 3.1 per cent from Jan. 2024.

Johal said many people purchasing a house or condo are coming from the GTA or Toronto, where house prices are well beyond $1,000,000 typically.

Johal said one thing the report failed to mention was current and past interest rates.

“One of the big things holding people back from making a move is sometimes they know they have outgrown their house, they need a larger home, but what they’re concerned about is losing that great rate that they have,” said Johal. “Coming into 2025, there are rumours about the rates going down even lower and I think that is definitely necessary for many people who are really just living pay cheque to pay cheque at this point.”

In February, 485 homes were sold in the region, showing an increase of 9.7 per cent in home sales from the previous year. The report also highlighted a 19 per cent decline in home sales compared to the previous 10-year average for the month.