There have been more transactions for homes in Newmarket, resulting in prices increasing after provincewide slump during the past six months.
The average price of homes in Newmarket bounced up to $1,235,545 in February 2024, according to data from the Toronto Real Estate Board.
That is an increase of $99,840 from prices in January 2024 as prices stabilized in February, ending a five-month fall that began last summer, according to figures released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
“I think buyers are coming out, they’re ready to buy but there are still very few options for them to buy with inventory low,” said Darcy Toombs of Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Centre. “Buyers are competing for homes.”
On a year-over-year basis, the average single-family home in Newmarket has sold for $1,174,836. The average price of a home in the province sold for $947,000 in February, up 2.5 per cent from the average of $923,800 in February 2023.
The price of homes in town has often been well above the provincial average as the community has been desirable by many families and property inventors.
“Newmarket has been a hot community because it offers a lot,” said Toombs. “Newmarket has plenty of employment. The regional headquarters are here, the regional courthouse is here, and Southlake hospital is a great employer. We have a bunch of industrial plants with Magna and other (companies) in the industrial parks in Newmarket and Aurora.”
The numbers are seasonally adjusted and do not take inflation into account. Inflation, depending on what measure you choose, is running at between 3.4 and 3.7 per cent.
The average detached home sold for $1.4 million, an increase of $87,646 month over month. About 55 detached homes were sold and sat on the market for 20 days. There were 71 listings active by the end of the month.
Wassim Jarrah, broker of Concierge Realty Group, found that a lack of supply of housing has driven competition up and drawn interest from speculators. He listed a property that had 26 showings on it in less than a week.
“We are seeing an exponentially increased number of showings on property,” said Jarrah. “If properties are priced well, they will be selling at market value, which is higher this time around last year. Properties that are renovated tend to attract more buyers, however, properties that need work and are not priced well will sit on the market for a longer period of time until there is a price correction by the sellers.”
The average semi-detached home sold for $992,667, a decrease of $34,511 month over month. About nine semi-detached homes sold during the month and sat on the market for 38 days. There were seven listings active by the end of the month.
Jarrah found that buyers coming into the market are families that want to live in the home but are looking for additional income by renting out a portion of the house.
“The cost to carry a mortgage, property tax, and housing costs have jumped up significantly that they’re looking for other forms of income to help supplement that,” said Jarrah.
For townhouse types of condos, the average price went up $871,000, an increase of $37,000 month over month. There were about four townhouse types of homes that sat on the market for 41 days and 29 listings active by the end of the month.
Toombs found sellers are looking to offload homes without conditions so they can continue with another purchase they have in mind.
“It puts the seller in a position where they can now know for sure that their home is sold and they move forward with a potential purchase on another end,” said Toombs. “When you have conditions, financing, or home inspections, it gives buyers outs. It means they found a reason to get out of a deal. Sometimes they’ll take it or try to renegotiate. When a buyer locks in a firm deal, they’re obligated to close on that or they can face legal repercussions.”
On a provincewide basis, prices for condos in a year-over-year comparison were essentially unchanged, at a .02 per cent decrease, and townhouses were up 2.5 per cent, similar to single-family houses.
On a national level, the number of transactions came in 19.7 per cent above February 2023, but CREA cautioned that sales in that month were exceptionally low.
— With files from Patrick Cain
