2021 has proven just as surprising and changeable as 2020, in several respects. Take the month of November in real estate, for example.
“November is typically when we see new listings and sales really start to taper off as we proceed into the slow season of real estate,” says Greig Turvey, Sales Representative, GoWylde Team/ReMax, “but 2021 has been anything but typical.”
Instead of decreasing, the number of new listings and sales remained basically flat compared to the month before. These figures are up slightly when compared to the same month last year, and that was also a very active November.
What does this mean? Demand has remained fairly constant. This is reflected in the steady average sale prices you see across all property types. There is one exception, however, and that is condos, the one segment of the market that actually saw a large increase of 7% from October through November alone. The average sale price of a condo was $495,273.
Homes are still selling for over their asking price; 86% of properties that sold went for more than they listed for. Just how much more are sellers getting? Properties are selling for an average of 118% of their list price—that’s up from 115%. In fact, nearly a quarter (23%) of homes that go to multiple offers end up selling for more than 30% above the list price.
Turvey was surprised to see that the average number of active listings was actually down 23% to only 206, compared to October, even though sales were only up 2% and new listings were only down 1%.
“However, these small changes—combined with the fact that the median days on market dropped to just 6—meant that there was significantly less inventory on the market at any given time,” he says. Months of inventory dropped from around 0.50 to just 0.38.
The real estate market in Kitchener certainly reflects what is happening elsewhere in Southern Ontario. The demand for homes is constant and it isn’t slowing down as it typically would at this time of year. While many have traditionally been reluctant to list their homes over the holidays, even that may be changing soon.
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.
