December market update and a 2022 recap: The year in local real estate
Posted Jan 19, 2023 12:00:00 PM.
2022 was an interesting year in real estate, to say the least.
Prices shot up over 20 percent in the first few months, with most houses selling $200,000+ over the list price in multiple offers. Then in March, things started to change. Prices dropped around 25% by September.
“December marks the end of a record-setting year in real estate that won’t soon be forgotten,” says Greig Turvey, Sales Representative, GoWylde Team/ReMax.
In fact, last year saw the lowest number of home sales since 2013. This is largely because many buyers wanted to “wait and see”; many sellers wanted to get those February prices for their homes when it was already too late.
“Of course, December is always a tricky month to analyze, for a few reasons. It is always the slowest month of the year, so there are less data points to work with. The average sale price is often lower than it is in November and January, as sellers become more willing to negotiate as the holiday season approaches. This was certainly true this year, as the average sale price was down 4% month over month,” he says.
The average sale price in December was $699,087. For detached homes that figure was $818,288, for attached homes it was $623,026 and for condos and apartments it was $462,160.
“Inventory has remained relatively low at 360, compared to pre-pandemic levels when December listings would routinely grow to over 500 or even over 1000 active listings. It will be interesting to see if inventory returns to those higher levels this year,” says the REALTOR®.
The months of inventory figure is also relatively low, at just under 2 months. It will likely remain low for the first few months of 2023.
“With interest rates and prices seeming to level off, buyer confidence may begin to return to the marketplace,” says Turvey, looking ahead.
Stay up to date with the latest market trends in Kitchener and Waterloo with real estate agents Brad Wylde and Greig Turvey.
Visit the GoWylde Team or call 519-826-7109 for more information.
