6th Straight Bank of Canada Interest Rate Hike Continues to Slow the Real Estate Market

WATERLOO REGION, ON (November 2, 2022) —491 residential homes were sold last month through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System of the Waterloo Region Association of REALTORS® (WRAR), a decrease of 39.7 per cent compared to October 2021 and 36.2 per cent below the previous 5-year average for the month.

Total residential sales in October included 310 detached (down 38.2 per cent from October 2021), and 84 townhouses (down 45.1 per cent). Sales also included 64 condominium units (down 36.0 per cent) and 31 semi-detached homes (down 47.5 per cent).

“Unsurprisingly, the pace of home sales continued to slow in October after the Bank of Canada’s sixth straight interest rate hike in September,” says Megan Bell, President of WRAR. “Faced with higher borrowing costs, some buyers have had to re-assess what they can afford. As these buyers get moved to the sidelines, sellers question if now is the best possible time to sell.”

In October, the average sale price for all residential properties in Waterloo Region was $763,630. This represents an 8.4 per cent decrease compared to October 2021 and a 1.6 per cent increase compared to September 2022.

• The average price of a detached home was $860,568. This represents a 10.6 per cent decrease from October 2021 and a decrease of 0.3 per cent compared to September 2022.
• The average sale price for a townhouse was $635,197. This represents a 9.0 per cent decrease from October 2021 and a decrease of 0.4 per cent compared to September 2022.
• The average sale price for an apartment-style condominium was $488,277. This represents an increase of 3.9 per cent from October 2021 and an increase of 7.3 per cent compared to September 2022.
• The average sale price for a semi was $624,999. This represents a decrease of 10.8 per cent compared to October 2021 and a decrease of 1.9 per cent compared to September 2022.

“While there is uncertainty in the minds of consumers about current market conditions, one thing is for certain, Waterloo region’s housing supply remains one of the tightest in the country,” says Bell.  “Buyers may be on the sidelines for now due to affordability, but the underlying demand for housing remains strong.”

There were 827 new listings added to the MLS® System in the Waterloo Region last month, a decrease of 3.3 per cent compared to October of last year and a 14.3 per cent decrease compared to the previous ten-year average for October.

The total number of homes available for sale in active status at the end of October was 928, an increase of 134.9 per cent compared to October of last year and 34.9 per cent below the previous ten-year average of 1425 listings for October.

The number of months of inventory is up 160.0 per cent compared to October of last year, but still historically low at 1.3 months. Between 2009 and 2015, October’s average months of inventory was 3.6 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 October was 22, compared to 10 days in October 2021. The previous 5-year average is 19 days.