March 2023

March saw several multiple Offer sales transactions take place which boosted the average sale price for a detached 2-storey to be almost $2.3mm ($2,294,380), and in a very quick 20 days!  That's up 4% over February 2023 average sale price and down 18% from the peak pricing of March 2022.  There were 52 sales above $2,000,000 18 of which were above $3,000,000.  So prices are trending upwards and are a welcome surprise given the global economic environment.

Bungalows were up year over year by almost 12% to and average sale price of $1925411.  This activity was definitely not anticipated. So if you are contemplating selling the Spring market looks to impress.

The rental market was also active and with a few multiple bids as well and 94 properties leasing. They ranged in price form $2100/mth for a small 1 bedroom apartment in Westmount with 1 parking space to $10,750/mth for a Southwest Oakville executive home South of Lakeshore Road.

I expect this active market to continue for April and May and many sellers will benefit.

February 2023

Nice to see some quick activity coming back to the market.  The average time to sell took a relatively quick 25 days, 2 weeks faster than this January.  And several homes that have been lingering on the market for months started to move along with a number of new listing sales occurring in less than a week.

There were also 7 sales between three and four million dollars and five above $4,000,000.  Most of those buyers are more cash rich and are not as concerned about the current level of interest rates.

Year over year detached 2-storey homes were off approximately 15% while bungalows were down 5% to $2,208,257 and $1,286,000, respectively.  That's not bad considering prices had gone up 30% from early 2021 to 2022.

Condominium apartments averaged a healthy $1,074,579 but if you back out a $5.5mm condo sale it reduces the average to a more normal $828,722.

Rental properties were active as well with 69 leases ranging in price from $2250 to $7400/mth.  The highest lease sale was also on the market for sale in the mid two million dollar range but the position/location of the property proved to be a difficult sell so they ended up renting it.

Looks like it will be a very busy Spring market with a lot of sellers coming to market to satisfy the waiting buyers.

January 2023

There were 6 more sales this January than in January 2022 however the time to sell was almost 7 weeks on average compared to under 2 weeks a year ago.  A year ago everything went in multiple offers and today buyers have time to make a decision and without any competition.

Less buyer competiton = less frustration. 

Still many buyers are reluctant to place an offer after their first visit as many feel prices may drop further. Some sales occur after two or three visits.  Our president Phil Soper believes that prices will level off this year as long as there are not many more interest rate increases and that we will probably not see any interest rate cuts until 2024.  We may see a couple more 25 basis point interest rate bumps between now and summer.

Inventory is still low but the number of new listings is inching up.  At the moment we have 230 properties (all types) listed for sale along with 123 rental properties.  So there is some choice. 

This January we had 84 sales up from 65 in December 2022 and 78 a year ago. We also had 54 rental transactions.

Here's a quick look at the numbers;

                                                  Jan 2023                    Jan 2022                 Dec 2022

Detached 2-storey                   $1854938                   $2059000                 $1933233

Det bungalow                          $1341500                    $1608000

Freehold THs                           $923500                      $980792

Condo THs                              $866300                      $866111

Split level homes                    $1502500

Semi-detached                        $1096500                    $1179000

Condo apartments                   $1460167                    $621852  

The high condo average this January was attributed to two ultra luxury apartment sales which totalled $8.3 million and sold for approximately $1250 per square foot.  There were only 2 split level home sales this January.

As you can see detached 2-storey homes were down 11% year over year while bungalows were down approximately 20%.  Condo townhomes were flat, freehold THs were off 6% and semi-detached homes were down about 7.5%.

Most consumers by now have had all their COVID-19 vaccine shots and as a result many agents are now doing open houses for their sellers.  As more new inventory comes to market along with warmer weather you will have more buyers viewing homes and this will help support sales prices.

December 2022

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Despite low inventories December saw 65 properties change hands. A year ago there were 95 transactions.

Almost half of the sales were for detached 2-storey homes which had and average selling price of $1,933,233.00.  That is down about 3% from November 2022 and down 23% from a year ago, December 2021.

The outlook for home values for 2023 isn't that rosy either as a number of mortgage terms will come due in 2023 and many owners will have to refinance at approximately twice the carrying cost.  These higher interest rates which will likely continue to climb during the first half of 2023 will weigh on affordability for those consumers seeking to get into the market or, move up as well as cause more mortgage defaults which may create some desperate sales.  So the full brunt of the rate hikes has yet to be felt.

We will also miss out on the support from foreign buyers with the current legislation in effect.

The rental market remained about the same year over year with 54 lease transactions ranging in price from $2200/mth for a 1 bedroom 1 bathroom and one underground parking space condo apartment at Dundas and Bronte Road to $7000/mth for an executive detached 4 bedroom home near Dundas and Ford Drive.  Lease prices are expensive

A silver lining  for those planning to sell is the lack of competition, rising wages and an undersupply of new housing.  We are also experiencing record immigration.  That should help sustain sales prices.

November 2022

 Here's a look at year over year numbers for November Oakville sales by type of housing.

                                             November 2022       November 2021         Approx % Change

Detached 2-storey                  $1992510                  $1782000                     +12%

Detached Bungalow                $1510000                  $1140000                     +32%

Condo Apartment                    $724789                    $610000                       +19%

Condo Townhome                   $1037571                  $721000                       +44%

Freehold TH                            $1193813                  $882000                       +35%

Semi-Detached                       $1152500                  $954000                       +21%

These results are great however, they are down from the peak sales amounts obtained during the first quarter.  

Month over month from this October to November detached 2-storey / Freehold TH's & semi-detached were all up approximately 7% / 1/2% / 10% / while detached bungalows / Condo apartments and condo townhomes were all down approximately 50% / 24% / 1.5%. Bungalow sales volumes were light so any change can be significant. October 2022 only had one bungalow sell that went for $3050000 while there were 11 sales this November which average $1510000.

Lease sales activity was decent with 50 transactions down slightly from last months 63 sales.

We are likely to see a further reduction in average sales prices going forward as the effect of rising interest rates causes more families to have to sell their properties.  And that will likely take all of 2023 to sort out.

One saving grace is that Oakville is a desirable place to live/work and it is likely to handle these difficult times better than most communities.

Stay tuned!

October 2022

It's nice to know that some seller's are getting their homes sold quickly and a few of them are receiving multiple offers.

The average time it took to sell a property was 26 days however, many went in under 2 weeks.

The average sale price for a detached 2-storey home was $1,866,655. That's down 19% from a year ago but when you recall that October's 2020's average was 33% lower than that (October 2021) and take into account our current economic climate, things are not so bad.  Almost $1.9mm, nothing to complain about. Also there were only 4 homes above $3mm that sold compared to 13 a year ago.

The rental market was quite busy with 63 transactions ranging from $2500/mth for an uptown townhome to $16000/mth for a Southeast new build.

Financing is on most consumers radar and we can look for a bump of perhaps another 50 basis points on December 7th.  Right now most mortgage money is costing around 6% and for those with home equity lines of credit (HELOC's) they are paying 6.45% interest, a half point above the prime lending rate. That's more than double the carrying cost from the first quarter of 2022.

Semi detached sales averaged $1050000, freehold townhomes $1186176, condo townhome and apartments went for $1053000 and 899652, respectively.

Only one bungalow closed during the month and it sold for $3050000.

There are 348 properties presently for sale. 

September 2022

The market was surprisingly very active in September and there were even a few multiple offer transactions.  A number of homes which had been languishing on the market over the summer were picked up in September including a few above the $3000000 mark.

The average sale price for a detached 2 storey home was $2164500 about the same as a year ago ($2191300) so not bad all things considered. 

Bungalow sales averaged $1666105.  A 9000SF building lot on Winston went for $1.6mm.

Lease transactions almost doubled year over year with 58 properties rented.  31 rented in September 2021.

Freehold and condo townhomes sold for $1318461 and $928125 on average respectively, while semi-detached properties averaged $1217909

Condo apartments average sale price was $991,810 for the month however, there were 2 downtown high end sales that when removed from the calculation the average would be $669368, a little more affordable.

I think that October should prove to be equally active. The Fall market is usually very good.