The January 2025 residential market statistics are now in from WECAR (The Windsor/Essex County Association of Realtors). So how is 2025 kicking off? Let’s take a look!
Click to access January-2025-Market-update-report-PDF.pdf
The average sale price for January 2025 was $572,643 which is up 6.55% from this time last year and down slightly at 2.21% from last month. Listings were once again the headliner in January which were up at 815 which is a 26.36% increase compared to a year ago and up a whopping 104.26% compared to last month’s pace (that’s not a typo). Sales were down at 262 sales which is a 9.97% decrease compared to a year ago but were up 8.27% from last month. So, sales have not been keeping up with the pace of listings so far in 2025.
Average days on market was at 22 days in January which is longer than last month which sat at 20.5 days. Months of inventory came in at 3.8 months (down from last month’s 4.2). The Sales to New Listings Ratio (SNLR) came in at 35.5% (down considerably from last month’s 64.3%). This metric indicates that we currently in a “Buyer’s Market”.
Current headlines: The BoC cut rates again at the January 29th meeting, down another twenty-five basis points leaving us with a target of 3.00%. Inflation dropped slightly to 1.8% in December as we continue to maintain the BoC target of 2% so hopefully we can continue that downward trend however with a looming threat of a trade-war between the USA, Canada and Mexico, all bets are off when it comes to any predictions of how all three economies will be affected. Also, the Canadian Foreign Buyer Ban has been extended for another two years (till Jan 2027).
Final thought: Listings have for outpaced Sales so far in 2025. The current Buyer’s market will be appealing to Buyers who have had difficulty with limited selection in the past as new listings come in. However, even though the average price has dropped slightly month over month, the average sale price has still increased over 6% from this time a year ago which is a respectable increase in value! So even with interest rate reductions from the BoC (which affect variable rate mortgages, not fixed-rate mortgages) and fixed-rates also slowly coming down, Buyers seem to be still holding that pause button. Are Buyers waiting for a sign from the feds that the interest rate cuts have gone as low as they will go? Are Buyers worried about their jobs or future economic challenges due to a potential trade war? I guess we’ll all have to wait and see after the 30-day pause by US President Trump.
Take care!
