Higher Interest Rates Causing a Slowdown in Home Sales in Waterloo Region

WATERLOO REGION, ON (August 5, 2022) — 550 residential homes were sold through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System of the Waterloo Region Association of REALTORS® (WRAR) in July, a decrease of 32.8 per cent compared to July 2021, and 32.3 per cent below the previous 5-year average for the month.

“In the wake of July’s interest rate hike, home sales in Waterloo Region continued to slow,” says Megan Bell, President of WRAR. “We’re seeing a clear shift in the market and what people can afford to purchase or are willing to pay. On the bright side for buyers, it’s not the extreme sellers’ market it was.”

Total residential sales in July included 337 detached (down 30.4 per cent from July 2021), and 112 townhouses (down 32.9 per cent). Sales also included 65 condominium units (down 39.3 per cent) and 36 semi-detached homes (down 41.0 per cent).

In July, the average sale price for all residential properties in Waterloo Region was $752,301. This represents a 1.2 per cent decrease compared to July 2021 and a 4.9 per cent decrease compared to June 2022.

• The average price of a detached home was $842,241. This represents a 6.0 per cent decrease from July 2021 and a decrease of 7.0 per cent compared to June 2022.
• The average sale price for a townhouse was $642,750. This represents a 3.6 per cent increase from July 2021 and a decrease of 3.3 per cent compared to June 2022.
• The average sale price for an apartment-style condominium was $521,731. This represents an increase of 20.4 per cent from July 2021 and an increase of 4.1 per cent compared to June 2022.
• The average sale price for a semi was $661,087. This represents an increase of 1.0 per cent compared to July 2021 and a decrease of 5.4 per cent compared to June 2022.

“The real estate market is cooling across the province, and we are seeing significantly fewer buyers from the GTA, which is also impacting prices,” reports Bell. “However, this is not entirely bad news since the previous market was not sustainable. We are all keenly aware of the issues relating to affordability of not just purchasing a home, but rentals as well, and there is clearly more work to be done.”

There were 1,174 new listings added to the MLS® System in the Waterloo Region last month, an increase of 34.0 per cent compared to July of last year, and a 9.2 per cent increase compared to the previous ten-year average for July.

The total number of homes available for sale in active status at the end of July was 1,283, an increase of 215.2 per cent compared to July of last year, and 19.5 per cent below the previous ten-year average of 1593 listings for July.

The number of months of inventory was 1.7 months in July, as it was in June. While this is still at historic lows, the last time it was near this range was September of 2019 when it was 1.6 months.  The number of months of inventory represents how long it would take to sell off current inventories at the current sales rate.  

The average number of days to sell in July was 18, compared to 11 days in July 2021. The previous 5-year average is 17 days.