Residential Update – Brantford, ON

February 2019

Winter is upon us but Spring is around the corner and along with it, the Spring Residential Real Estate market. The Canadian Real Estate market has always been weather driven, however it has not played as much of a factor the last few years. 

The inventory of available homes steadily increased over 2018 (up 22.7% Jan 2018 vs. Jan 2019). The natural influx of available homes that comes to market once Spring arrives could start to soften prices or at least extend the days on market.

So far this year, I have seen well-priced properties, in good condition, still in high demand with a few even selling with competing offers. That said, properties priced above market in less desirable locations or average to below average condition are not seeing the same activity. 

January 2018 vs. January 2019

We will be keeping a keen eye on the effects to the market as the Spring inventory increases. As always someone thinking of selling is best to be just in front of the Spring market as once the weather improves Buyers get out looking right away, but there is a natural delay to properties coming to market as Sellers prepare them for sale. If you or someone you know is considering a sale, please give me a call to strategically plan when to launch a property to best take advantage of the changing market.

Residential Update – Brantford, ON

March 2019

Below is an excellent summary of the Real Estate market in Brantford for February of this year provided by the Brantford Real Estate Association. I think it captured the current picture of the market. The tell-tale factor in any market is the Spring run up with the weather now getting better this will affect the number of homes and the speed in which they come to market. How well this new inventory is absorbed will determine if we are experiencing an increase, plateau or decrease in the market.

Brantford Real Estate Association

"The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Brantford Regional Real Estate Association totaled 127 units in February 2019. This was up 6.7% (eight sales) from February 2018.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totalled 240 units over the first two months of the year. This was an increase of 13.2% from 2018.

Home sales posted a year-over-year increase in February 2019, although that was mostly a reflection of the quiet start to last year," said Pamela White, 2019 President of the Brantford Regional Real Estate Association. "While sales activity is still running at below-average levels, the available supply of listings is historically even lower, so on balance the market is still pretty tight. Accordingly, we're continuing to see some upward pressure on prices.

The average price of homes sold in February 2019 was $427,322, edging up 2.8% from February 2018.

Active residential listings numbered 275 units at the end of February. This was an increase of 15.1% from the end of February 2018.

Months of inventory numbered 2.2 at the end of February 2019, up from the 2 months recorded at the end of February 2018 and below the long-run average of 3.5 months for the end of the year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

With the market balance little changed from a year ago, homes spent about the same amount of time on the market before selling in February 2019 than they had in February 2018. The median number of days on market for homes sold through the Association's MLS® System was 16 in February 2019, little changed from the 17 days seen in February 2018."

We will be keeping a keen eye on the effects to the market as the Spring inventory increases. As always someone thinking of selling is best to be just in front of the Spring market as once the weather improves Buyers get out looking right away. There is a natural delay to properties coming to market as Sellers prepare them for sale. If you or someone you know is considering a sale, please give me a call to strategically plan when to launch a property to best take advantage of the changing market.

Residential Update – Brantford, ON Year-in-Review 2019 As we enter into 2019, it is always a great idea to look back, to see how changes last year may affect this year's market. Below is a brief description of some of the more relevant factors of last year's Brantford Residential Real Estate market.

2017 vs. 2018

Looking at 2018 as a whole, the number of residential properties sold is down 20.59% while the average sale price for detached homes increased 5.27%. The more telling number in considering the 2019 market is the actual inventory of residential homes on the market in Brantford, which as of year end is up 29%. This increase coupled with the increase in the days on the market, points to a cooling of the market overall. Mortgage rates continue to rise therefore, based on all of these factors, 2019 will continue the trend of 2018 with an increase of available inventory and days on market lengthening. When it is an option, timing is always critical in considering the sale of such a major asset. The Spring market always sees our largest amount of property sales, historically the best sales time is always just in front of the spring market in late March or early April (depending on weather). Buyers tend to be out right away when the Spring weather arrives, while there is a natural lag in properties coming to market as Sellers strive to put them in the best condition.