Single Family Residential MLS Market Statistics Year to Date as of March 2014 – Niagara & Hamilton Boards
1st Quarter Residential Sales off to a Slow Start
The Niagara Region reported a drop of 4% in residential sales unit activity for the first 3 months of this year compared to the first quarter of 2013. The Good news is the average sale prices have increased 6.8% overall.
The drop in sales has not affected house prices as the average selling price for the Niagara Region is $241,912 compared to the first quarter of last year when the average price was $226,577.
Home sales in the region have been soft due to the hard winter. The number of newly listed homes has been down while demand has been strong in the $250,000 to $350,000 price range.
Due to this lack of residential inventory we are seeing many instances of multiple offer situations for homes newly listed and priced to reflect the current market.
Based on a sales-to-new listings ratio of between 40 and 67%, most of the local markets were in balanced territory.
As the spring market heats up we should see more homes on the market and Sales activity will increase.
Sellers who have been on the market for over 60 days may need to re-adjust their price to reflect the current Market. The Buyers are actively looking and according to a number of the lending institutions they have quite a few buyers who have been pre-approved for a mortgage but have NOT bought.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]