Market conditions for many Seller's were and continue to be difficult since the new Ontario government regulations announced last April. The number of showings as well as open house traffic in most instances has fallen off. It was not unusual for no one to show up at an open house. The extremely cold December weather coupled with the holiday season, didn't help much either.
The average price for a detached 2-storey was up 3.5% to $1,476,462. Detached bungalows went from $979,000 to $1268318 or up 29% while condo apartments fell 15% to an average of $492,289. The bungalow increase reflected more higher end bungalow sales this year while the condo apartment drop reflected more lower end apartment sales compared to 2016.
No surprise it took longer to sell properties too. The average was hovering 30 days compared to 20 a year earlier.
I expect 2018 to be a difficult year. Further tightening finance requirements, with expected interest rate increases and lower GDP growth prospects will definitely have an adverse effect on real estate sales. The low inventory selection will keep the market more balanced for now, however, it will play into the Buyer's hand as more product comes to market, eventually turning the playing field into a Buyer's market. There are a lot of Baby Boomers sitting on the fence mulling over when to cash out/sell.
