However, waterfront sales up as year-over-year stats are in for March from Lakelands Region

The Lakelands Association of Realtors numbers are in for March and there continues to be hesitancy in the market, at least from a non-waterfront perspective in the region.

Year-over-year statistics are showing a sharp decrease in sales in that market segment (down 13.1 percent) in March 2024 from the same period in 2023. Only 325 unit sales were record through the MLS System for the Lakelands region.

Residential non-waterfront sales were also 35.6 percent below the five-year average and 34.9 percent below the 10-year average for the month of March.

In terms of year-to-date numbers, there has been only one sale more in the first three months of 2024 than there was in the same period in 2023. There were 840 non-waterfront sales this year in the Lakelands region through March.

These are significantly low numbers when considering that the Lakelands system includes over 1,500 realtors covering major geographical areas outside of the GTA including parts of Severn and Georgian Bay Townships, Wasaga Beach, Collingwood, The Blue Mountains, Parry Sound, Muskoka, Orillia, Haliburton and more.

However, there seems to optimism that 2024 will turn around when chatting with several realtors in the region. They point to an always in demand cottage market as proof that a rebound will occur as buyers’ confidence builds as the Bank of Canada holds interest rates with a eye towards cuts during the calendar year.

Indeed, waterfront property sales saw a year-over-year increase of 8.5 percent from March 2023 to March 2024. There were 77 units sold in March, with 145 total in the first three months of 2024 (up 12.4 percent from the same period in 2023).

Still, waterfront sales were 22.5 percent below the five-year average and 18.3 percent below the 10-year average for the month of March. Those numbers should come with the asterisk that the 2020 to 2022 cottage market saw record breaking sales, which can skew the average stats.

“The waterfront segment of the market seems to be leading the recovery this spring, with activity rising from year-ago levels compared to a decline in the non-waterfront segment,” says Bonnie Looby, President of the Lakelands Association of Realtors via media release. “Both types of properties have seen a rebound in new listings, so it’s not for a lack of supply that non-waterfront homes are not selling at the same pace as their waterfront counterparts. Despite both segments taking longer to sell compared to last year, waterfront properties are spending less time on the market before they sell than non-waterfront properties.”

Listing prices still high

Perhaps one of the factors in slower sales is that many listing prices are still way over what a true market value is.

Though buyers should understand that the market will not be reducing prices back to what they were in 2019 or before, market corrections are seeing 10 to 20 percent decreases in listing prices from 2022 to the start of 2024. Seeing as they skyrocketed by up to 60 percent, depending on the property, this market correction was expected by intelligent, experienced realtors.

However, that has stabilized and according to the recent numbers from the Lakelands Association of Realtors, the values we’re seeing today will likely continue with only slight increases or decreases in most cases.

Indeed the MLS Home Price Index (HPI), which tracks price trends, shows the composite benchmark price was $679,400 in March 2024, a minor decrease of 1.1 percent compared to March 2023.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $707,900, a slight reduction of 0.6 percent on a year-over-year basis in March.

By comparison, the benchmark price for townhouse/row units was $549,900, falling by 4.3 percent compared to a year earlier, while the benchmark apartment price was $433,900, a modest decline of 3.3 percent.

The median price for residential non-waterfront property sales in March 2024 was $725,000, an increase of 11.8 percent from March 2023.

The more comprehensive year-to-date residential non-waterfront median price was $665,000, a slight reduction of 0.2 percent percent from the first three months of 2023.

The median price for waterfront property sales in March 2024 was $950,000, a minor increase of 2.2 percent from March 2023.

The more comprehensive year-to-date waterfront median price was $910,000, a small gain of 1.1 oercent from the first three months of 2023.

The total dollar value of all residential non-waterfront sales in March 2024 was $257.5 million, falling by 9 percent from the same month in 2023.

The total dollar value of all waterfront sales in March 2024 was $90 million, a gain of 4.1 percent from the same month in 2023.

Building Lot for Sale in Huntsville

One of the ways many people are looking to combat the market prices is to buy a lot and build their own home. With material prices stabilizing and decreasing in recent months, that option is looking better to many every day.

This lot is nestled between two single-family homes, and is close to town without being surrounded by businesses, is steps away from a public school, close to the hospital, Arrowhead Park and has easy access to all utilities including super high speed fibre internet is the perfect place to build that next family home or for a young couple to build their first home.

Zoned R2 residential, go ahead a build a duplex to live in and start earning rental income as well!

See the full listing: https://www.sueburke.com/featured-listings

To find out more or make an offer, contact Sue Burke at 705.788.6389 or sue@sueburke.com