House Prices Continue to Drop in Halton
Published September 6, 2017 at 7:48 pm
There’s never a boring day in real estate.
There’s never a boring day in real estate.
The hot GTA market has been the focus of numerous think pieces and overwrought discussions over the past few years and for good reason–it’s been hitting incredible highs.
That said, it looks like the trend of declining sales and moderately decreasing prices is persisting into the fall (which means now might be a good time to purchase a home, albeit still an expensive one, in Oakville, Burlington or Milton).
The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) recently announced that GTA Realtors reported 6,357 home sales through TREB’s MLS System in August 2017–down by 34.8 per cent compared to August 2016. TREB says only 11,523 new listings were entered into the system–the lowest level for August since 2010.
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“Recent reports suggest that economic conditions remain strong in the GTA. Positive economic news coupled with the slower pace of price growth we are now experiencing could prompt an improvement in the demand for ownership housing, over and above the regular seasonal bump, as we move through the fall,” says TREB president Tim Syrianos.
That said, prices are still up year over year.
TREB says the average selling price for all home types combined was $732,292 – up by three per cent compared to August 2016. The growth was driven by the semi-detached, townhouse and condo market segments, which continue to see high year-over-year average price increases.
As for Halton and the overall 905 region, prices do appear to be inching downwards in most segments (although the drops aren’t at all substantial).
According to TREB, detached houses in the 905 are selling for $906,592 (slightly down from $910,348 last month). Semi-detached homes are selling for $635,669 (slightly down from $636,844), townhouses for $582,953 (a little up from $581,541) and condos for $416,081 (a tiny bit down from $418,191).
The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark was up by 14.3 per cent year-over-year in August.
“The relationship between sales and listings in the marketplace today suggests a balanced market. If current conditions are sustained over the coming months, we would expect to see year-over-year price growth normalize slightly above the rate of inflation. However, if some buyers move from the sidelines back into the marketplace, as TREB consumer research suggests may happen, an acceleration in price growth could result if listings remain at current levels,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s director of market analysis.
At this point, it appears the market is levelling out. Prices are shifting down (but only a little), and while that might comfort prospective buyers, only time will tell how the market changes with the arrival of fall.
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