The May 2024 residential market statistics are now in from WECAR (The Windsor/Essex County Association of Realtors). Listings are up, Sales are down and the BoC cuts rates! Let’s take a closer look!
The average sale price for May 2024 was $575,014 which is down just slightly from last month but down over 4% from this time last year. Listings continue to grow at 1,240 which is up over 14% from last month and also up nearly 12% compared to last year. Sales are the real headliner this month …. April saw 464 sales which is up over 2% from last month but down nearly 20% compared to a year ago!
Days on market is at 11 which is similar to what we experienced last year at this time. Months of inventory came in at 3.1 months which is up from last month and up almost a full month from this time last year. The Sales to New Listings Ratio (SNLR) came in at 39.6 which is trending downward just under the threshold into a “Buyer’s Market” compared to our Balanced Market of last month.
Current headlines? Well, the Bank of Canada has finally heard the cries of pretty much every Canadian in the country and this morning has reduced its target to 4.75%. Will a 25 basis-point reduction make much of a difference? Not really at this point Imo, but the signal that the rate cutting has begun will be welcome news to many! Buyers may not feel much relief yet as stress-test qualification really won’t change what they can afford. Variable rate mortgage rates will come down slightly but fixed-rates, which are influenced mostly by bond yields, are on their own path.
With sales having been quite sluggish in the month of May, will this quarter point drop have Buyers lining up? As our spring market slowly transitions to our typical seasonal summer slowdown and qualification rates still making it hard for Buyers to afford today’s home prices, it’s unlikely that this one drop will cause much of a frenzy. We are, however, optimistically looking forward to further cuts which will slowly breathe some new life into our local and National real estate markets!
The provincial government has also just passed Bill 200 “The Homeowner Protection Act” which, once it receives Royal Ascent, create a 10-day cooling-off period for freehold new construction homes. This already exists for new-build condos but has been a long-time coming for new freehold homes. This will not apply to resale homes.
Contact me if you’d like to discuss your specific, individual situation. Take care!
Click HERE to read my complete May 2024 Market Update Report
