DURHAM REGION REAL ESTATE MONTHLY HOUSING REPORT
Summarized by Jacob Asparian, Broker
Hi everyone, welcome back to our monthly market update! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Jacob and I’m a broker and team lead of Asparian & Co. We’re a boutique team focused on all things real estate in Durham Region. Today we’ll be reviewing the market update numbers for April 2020 but also looking at market activity levels to see if we can see where the market is heading now.
Usually, to get a sense of what’s happening in the market, we look at the total number of listings, sales, average market price as well as a few key indicators to compare to. April was the first full month of the shutdown and the collateral damage is building up.
Today we will not only be looking at the numbers, we will also look at current activity on our Broker Bay system with showings and offers. Activity here is one indicator for us to keep an eye on to get a gauge of how the market is rebounding.
The basics! In every market, the 3 most important numbers we look at are listings, sales and average sales price
LISTINGS
We saw a total of 883 new listings come to the market in Durham Region this April, which was a noticeable decrease of 55.7% than the 1993 that came to market last year at this time.
SALES
We had 513 homes sell in Durham Region this April and that is a significant decrease of over 52.3% from the 1075 that were sold in April 2019. This is in line with the trend we had seen from the earlier effects of the shutdown.
AVERAGE SALES PRICE
So what does this all mean for sales prices? The average sale price in Durham Region in April 2020 was $612,563. This is an increase of 0.1% from the 2019 average of $612,195 but that was much lower than the average sale price of $656,211 in March.
Deep Dive!
Now the total months of inventory in Durham Region is currently at 2.3 which is a drastic change from the 1.1 we were in a couple months ago. What does months of inventory mean? If we stopped listing homes and kept selling at the current pace, it is how long the inventory would last for. Anything under 4 months of inventory is considered a sellers market while anything over 6 is a buyers market and everything in the middle is balanced. Currently we are in a sellers market but we need to see how far the pendulum swings on this shift.
Days on market dropped to 17 which is actually shorter than the 21 in March.
The most important thing now is to see how quickly we start to recover from this shutdown.
According to our back office company Broker Bay who provides services for many large real estate brokerages around the GTA and Durham Region has shared some interesting stats.
Showings had bottomed 2 weeks after the shutdown and the trendline is that the number of showings is in fact going up.
Offer activity has gone up over the past 30 days.
But overall, the numbers are still abysmal when you compare it to the big picture.
Since the shutdown, I’ve had countless conversations about how to approach this market and as always, I tell them it really comes down to their needs. Don’t try and time the market!
-Sellers. You have more competition now and from the looks of it, inventory is going to continue to increase. Your home needs to show very well, marketed aggressively and price ahead of the market.
-Buyers. Some are taking advantage of this lull in the market and some are sitting on the sidelines waiting for the market to come down more. Again, no one has a crystal ball and only time will tell
It really does come down to your personal needs and motivations which is why you should speak with a professional you trust and ask questions. We offer no obligation consultations and market evaluations that can be done virtually so please never hesitate to reach out if you need anything.
PREDICTIONS
While the fundamentals still haven’t changed we need to keep a close eye on all the collateral damage the shutdown has caused and to see how long it will last for. We don’t know what the long lasting effects of the shutdown will be but 1 million people losing their jobs and businesses not making money for months is not something that will be very easy to bounce back from.
While I’m very confident that Durham Region will continue to experience growth over the coming years, we are at the mercy of the overall health of the economy and general market sentiment. Immigration and jobs are the 2 biggest factors for real estate markets and they have obviously been hit hard.We will keep a close eye on the market and will update you on any pressing issues. In the meantime, stay safe and please never hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
We offer no cost, no obligation market evaluations for all of you out there if you are thinking of selling or want a second opinion. If you don’t necessarily want to meet with an agent just yet, no problem! Visit the link and we will send you a free online market evaluation. There is no cost or obligation for any of this!
If you enjoyed this please like and share with anyone else you think would enjoy this and be sure to like/subscribe to be kept up to date for all upcoming vlogs and blogs. Thank you so much for reading and please never hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.
Whether you’re thinking of buying, selling, or just interested to know what’s happening in the market, my team and I are always here to help answer any questions that you may have. Make sure you go give us a follow on FB, IG or LinkedIn to stay connected and to sign up for our weekly newsletters to be the first to get our new content/and listings.
Until next month, have a good one!
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