Housing Race Continues in July, Fewer Homes For Sale

While the market has shown some signs of cooling since its peak in March, July data tells a distinctive story of its own. Increasing demand combined with fewer homes for sale resulted in heightened competition for home buyers last month.

Let’s take a look at July market results for Halton region, and how it compared to the rest of the GTA.
 
Halton Overall
 
In terms of average sale price, Halton region continues to outperform the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). The average price across all home styles last month increased by 18.2% versus July 2020. TRREB’s average increase was 12.6%. 
 
Thus, average housing values in Halton are increasing at a more rapid pace than their sister regions across the GTA by 5.6%.
 
There were also fewer new listings that came on the market in Halton this past July, with 26% fewer homes coming on the market than in June 2021, and 34% fewer properties coming up for sale than in July 2020. Compared to the rest of the GTA, this is a considerably sharper decrease in new listings. 
 
As a result, house hunters trying to buy a house in Halton last month would have faced more competition than home buyers in other municipalities in the GTA.
 
Burlington, Milton, & Oakville
 
In terms of average sale price, detached homes in Burlington fetched 8% less than the prior month, dropping from $1.49M in June to $1.36M in July. Semi-detached home pricing remained flat month over month. Townhomes in Burlington showed a moderate 6% increase compared with June, jumping from $860K in June to $907 in July, 2021.
Milton also experienced a slight pricing shift last month. Both detached homes and townhouses fetched a 2% lower price than the prior month, while semi-detached properties maintained the status quo. The average price for a detached home in Milton last month was $1.28M, and just slightly over $1.3M in June 2020.
 
Interestingly, home prices in Oakville continued to rise compared to the prior month.
 
Detached and semi-detached properties gained 2% in average sale price compared with June 2020 while townhomes maintained the $1.06M average price from June.
 
Overall, homes in Halton region continue to sell at 103% of list price, which is down just 1% compared with June.
 
Despite these slight fluctuations, one thing remains certain: the equity gains of homeowners from the past 15 months are here to stay. 
 
Demand continues to outpace supply. First time buyers are being driven farther afield from more expensive suburbs like Oakville and Milton to up-and-coming areas like Brantford, Stoney Creek, Guelph, Cambridge and others. These are rapidly becoming the new suburbs of choice for new buyers looking to spend a more moderate amount to become homeowners.  

 

Jason Mercer, Chief Market Analysist at TRREB commented, “The annual rate of price growth has moderated since the early spring but has remained in the double digits. This means that many households are still competing very hard to reach a deal on a home. This strong upward pressure on home prices will be sustained in the absence of more supply, especially as we see a resurgence in population growth moving into 2022.” (TRREB, Market Update July 2021).
 
As the real estate market continues to shift in unprecedented directions, the best defense for home buyers is a determined and unrelenting search for information. Ask plenty of questions, ensure your real estate salesperson is doing their due diligence to get you the most updated, relevant information.
 
Speak with your REALTOR® about how you can best prepare for a competitive buying experience as we look towards what is sure to be a very busy fall season.***

Reference: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (2021). GTA REALTORS® Release July Stats.
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