August 15, 2025
Interesting dynamics going on in the real estate market at the moment. Prices, as we expected, are falling as we move into the second half of the year. July at $663,841 is actually down $13,466 from June. A drop in one month of 2%. At the same time, unit sales, which should be falling in lock step with prices are actually on the rise. In fact, July recorded 648 sales across the region. That not only compares favourably with the 529 figure we saw in June. It is actually the strongest month so far this year. Interesting.
June 16, 2025
If this year follows the pattern of the past couple of years, we can expect a continued strengthening of market dynamics, both with respect to average price and also with unit sales right up to the end of June. But then a tapering off of both on to the end of the year. So, let’s take a look at May’s stats and see if that is what is happening
May 15, 2025
Whenever we sit down to review the numerical sales data, month by month and year by year, we always look to see if there are any trends evident. I speak here both in terms of number of unit sales and also average residential sale price. And then we ask ourselves the question – “Why did this happen?”. What we are trying to do, of course, is extrapolate out and thus predict what will happen in the months ahead. We primarily follow unit sales and average residential sales prices. As I’ve said before, I don’t particularly track new listings coming in, because these numbers are unreliable. They include properties that expire and are re-listed as well as listings that are re-serviced. So, while available inventory is a useful barometer, new listings are not.
April 15, 2025
Whether we are tracking unit sales or average sale price, there is a trend that seems to happen, year after year, provided no extreme external pressures are being applied. And that is up in the spring and down in the fall.
February 17, 2025
I now have the January sales figures in from the Board. They are not precise. This concerns me when it comes to both number crunching and reporting. I’m not faulting anyone but the fact is that a couple of changes have occurred which skew the figures. The first, as we’ve discussed in the past, is that the industry over the past year or so has switched from average sale prices to HPI prices (Home Price Index) which zeros down on one type of sale.
January 15, 2025
Last month, as you recall, we were a little light on data in our market report. This was because our local real estate board, The Niagara Association of Realtors, was in the process of changing MLS service providers and it was taking time to implement the new systems and getting all the data transferred over.
December 16, 2024
The market report is going to be a little thin this month I’m afraid. Especially when it comes to specific data. The Niagara Association of Realtors (NAR) which we look to for our raw sales data is in the process of changing MLS data systems and the numbers for November are not currently available.
November 15, 2024
Not sure if it is due to the consistent drop in interest rates or the weather, or if it is a combination of both, but whatever the reason, the market is continuing strong long after we would normally see a downturn. And that is true both for average sale price and also for unit sales.
