The residential market statistics are now in from WECAR (The Windsor/Essex County Association of Realtors). While the year over year headline numbers look soft, our seasonal spring activity compared to last month is strong. Let’s get into it!
Average price has decreased just slightly by 1.32% year of year in March 2024 to $563,309. Listings are down 4.39% year over year at 828 and Sales were down 10.29% year over year at 401. Now that we’ve gotten past the headlines, let’s compare March to last month’s numbers. Average price is down by 2.23%, however listings were up 25.64% over the previous month and sales were up 23.01%.
March saw an average of 12 days on market in comparison to 15 DOM in February. Months of inventory in March was at 2.6 months (down from 2.9 in February). Based on this metric we are considered to be in a “Seller’s market”. However, the Sales to New Listings Ratio (SNLR) was at 50.3 for March compared to 49.1 in February which continues to indicate a “Balanced market” using this metric. With weight given to the SNLR to better adjust for seasonality, one could label our current marketplace as balanced although depending on what price category you are in it may feel more like a Seller’s market.
What does all this mean? And why are sales (and even overall activity) so much lower than last year at this time? Among a variety of reasons one of the biggest reasons many Buyers may be considering are interest rates. With inflation dropping marginally from 2.9% to 2.8% in February, the BoC maintained a hold on their overnight rate with many economists expressing optimism that we may begin to see rate cuts from the BoC by June and as early as April. This may cause some Buyers to wait just a bit longer to make that purchase waiting for interest rates (and qualifying rates) to go down. What do you think the BoC will do at its next meeting on April 10th? Buyers are also finding that current inventory is still very low with limited selection, especially in the below average price segment.
Is it a good time to buy? Good time to sell? Well that depends on your unique individual situation, location, and home. None of the above or following information should be relied upon as “advice”, however if you would like a complimentary evaluation of your personal situation, reach out to me anytime, I would be happy to sit down with you to help you better understand what this information means to you.
Click the link below to read my full March 2024 Market Report!
