Hot temperatures reflected in Waterloo Region’s heated housing market

It’s a busy and warm time of year in Waterloo Region and one housing expert says the same can be said for the local housing market, with plenty of families looking for a new home heading into autumn.

Broker with Remax Twin City, Tony Johal, had the chance to speak on The Mike Farwell Show, saying he expects plenty of activity in the market this fall, thanks in part to the continued interest rate cuts seen in the country.

“We just had a rate drop at the beginning of September and that certainly did put it onto the right foot coming into the fall market,” said Johal. “The next 60 days, as long as the snow stays off the ground, as long as the sun is out, and as long as the rates keep dropping, or at least stay competitive, or if there’s rumors of rates coming down, that still gives buyers confidence to come into the market.”

This comes as the Waterloo Region Association of Realtors released its market statistics for August, which states that 539 homes were sold in the region that month. Even though this is a decline of 24.1 per cent compared to the average number of homes sold in the previous 10 years for the same month, it still shows increases year-over-year.

“Despite a cooling market, detached homes continue to see strong demand, reflected in a 6.0 per cent increase in sales year-over-year,” Christal Moura, spokesperson for the Waterloo Region market area, said. “With home prices showing stability in recent months and interest rates decreasing, we saw some home buyers finally come out from the wings to take advantage of the summer slowdown to seek out specific property types, like single-family homes.”

The statistics report says in August the average sale price for all residential properties in Waterloo Region was $769,203 representing a 1.1 per cent increase compared to August 2023 and a 1.7 per cent decrease compared to July 2024.

“Average townhouse is about $611,000. The average semi was $654,000. That’s kind of a breakdown of where the prices are,” said Johal. “They’re not dramatically different this year versus last year, or this month versus last month. We’re not seeing these types of jumps just yet.”

Even though prices have not changed drastically in either direction, Johal said there is still a buzz across the region. He adds that some of the demand in the market will change depending on which type of housing people are looking for.

“There’s still options out there, especially for first-time home buyers, but once you kind of get to that person who’s looking to move from their townhouse up to a detached home, all of a sudden, it gets very competitive there.”

For those searching in some of the more competitive spaces, he says people can expect to see competition reflected in the strategies being used to finalize the sales.

“We’re seeing some listings come to the market with a bidding war strategy. We are still seeing homes going over asking price,” said Johal. “Just not quite seeing the springtime jumps, but it is a reflection that the buyer demand is back and supply is still fair.”

He expects conditions to cool as the winter temperatures and weather approach and continued rate cuts to end the year it could create another boost in 2025, with springtime possibly bringing yet another bout of demand in the Waterloo Region’s housing sector.