Both listing and sales activity picked up in February, with sales activity now trending higher in 2024 compared to the same time period in 2023. So, early signs that the local real estate market may have turned a corner – even though interest rates are not dropping as quickly as many had hoped.

Buyer psychology has improved – with some perhaps jumping into the market now before rates start dropping – thinking prices may start moving upward.

Markets around us like Guelph and Kitchener-Waterloo are starting to see a more competitive market in certain home segments – with a return to multiple offers in a number of cases (Inventory is still relatively quite low in those markets).

Not a return to 2022 in any way – but definitely some indication of pent up demand. Our market has not quite got to that stage yet; we will monitor closely as we head further into March.

Sometimes you have to drill down into the numbers as raw data doesn’t always tell the complete story. While the number of listings in the Centre Wellington area is now significantly higher overall than 2023, analyzing things more closely shows some interesting trends within the overall market.

A number of the listings on realtor.ca are new builds – which is a departure from the past in our area. Locally, builders historically have not listed new builds on realtor.ca, but with the current market for new builds being much slower than the preceding few years, some builders have started to work with realtors and listed selected inventory on realtor.ca as a way to drive more sales.

Further, a number of listings are homes in the newer subdivisions where buyers bought on a speculative basis and are now trying to sell or rent the homes.
The truth is once you remove the new builds or recently-built from the inventory, there is actually A LACK OF INVENTORY for sale in many of the older areas and established subdivisions within town.

Excluding newer builds and condos, there are only 15 homes for sale in all of Elora. As another example, while things will change a bit by the time this magazine hits the street, at the time of writing this article, the south end Fergus neighbourhood behind Zehrs (978 homes) had ZERO homes for sale.

I’ll be listing one by the time this magazine comes out – and I’m sure other realtors will be too. Just an interesting observation.

Demand for homes under $850,000 is continuing to increase (detached, semi-detached, freehold townhomes), and we have seen some uptick in the over $1 million category as well.

Condo sales are still slow, although as I stated last month, I expect activity in this segment to increase as we get into the 2nd quarter of the year.

Listing activity will build considerably in March. I have delayed listing a number of properties until March/April as we monitored where the market was headed.

But now there is enough evidence that the market is coming to life, so if you are thinking of selling, you may want to start a conversation with your realtor now. We will definitely have a much better idea how much pent up demand there is by the end of March.

If you have a bungalow or a home in an older part of town or an established subdivision, you may want to reach out sooner than later.

Until next month, take care.
George