The average price of homes in Newmarket has dropped moderately from April to May.
According to data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the average price of all home types in Newmarket slumped to $1.173 million in May, down from $1.177 million in April. There were 93 sales in May and 105 sales in April.
“The real estate market activity in Newmarket is very similar to the overall dynamics of many Canadian towns,” said Tatiana Klyushkina, salesperson for Right at Home Realty. “High borrowing costs keep many home buyers from making a move. As a result, sales this spring remained low, especially compared to last year. At the same time, the number of new listings went up. The good news is that buyers had more options to choose from and also got an opportunity to negotiate prices.”
The average price of detached homes in Newmarket has decreased to $1.317 million in May 2024. These types of homes cost $1.42 million in April 2024. On a year-by-year basis, detached homes cost $1.402 million in May 2023. There were 58 detached homes sold in May and 58 detached homes sold in April.
“I’m not surprised about detached homes dropping somewhat as these homes are so much harder to be able to afford,” said Mary Cerqua, sales representative for Right at Home Realty.
The average price of semi-detached homes in Newmarket has increased to $1.006 million in May 2024. Semi-detached homes cost $924,000 in April 2024. On a year-by-year basis, these types of homes cost $1.038 million in May 2023. There were 11 semi-detached homes sold in May and 18 semi-detached homes sold in April.
The average price of townhouse-style homes in Newmarket, meanwhile, has increased to $863,333 in May 2024. Townhouse-style homes were $787,323 in April 2024. On a year-over-year basis, these types of homes averaged $844,000 in May 2023. There were six townhouses sold in May and 11 sold in April.
Cerqua said homes under $1 million tend to be attractive for first-time home buyers as they don’t require as much of a minimum down payment.
“I think that the down payment structure for homes less than $1 million is a lot more affordable as the tiered down payment structure is five per cent on the first $500,000, then 10 per cent on the next $500,000 and, finally, 20 per cent on anything over $1 million,” said Cerqua. “When you look at a home being sold at $999,000, the minimum down payment requirement is about $75,000, whereas as soon as the price is sold at $1 million, the minimum down payment is $200,000. That's a huge difference. Although the average price (of all homes) is still showing that homes are selling over $1 million, there are a lot of homes being sold under $1 million, which is definitely a lot more affordable. I also like to compare year-over-year numbers instead of just a month as that is a really short time period. Looking at year-over-year numbers, we are definitely seeing a decline in the market.”
On a year-over-year basis, the average single-family home in the province sold for $951,600 in May, down 3.8 per cent from the average of $989,300 they sold for in May 2023.
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.
“May was another sleepy month for housing activity in Canada, although it may prove to be the last of those now that interest rates have moved lower,” Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) senior economist Shaun Cathcart said in a release.
“The Bank of Canada’s June 5 rate cut may have only been 25 basis points, but the psychological effect for many who have been sitting on the sidelines was no doubt huge. The question now turns to further rate cuts — specifically, how fast, and how far?”
On a provincewide basis, prices for condos in a year-over-year comparison fell 3.4 per cent, and townhouses fell 2.2 per cent.
“The spring housing market usually starts before all the snow has melted, somewhere around the beginning of April, but this year I believe a lot of people were waiting for the Bank of Canada to wave the green flag,” CREA chair James Mabey said in a release.
“That first rate cut is expected to bring some pent-up demand back into the market, and those buyers will find there are more homes to choose from right now than at any other point in almost five years.”
Anne Turek, sales representative with Right at Home Realty, said buyers and sellers are on the fence watching what will happen.
“The understanding is that once the interest rates start dropping more, the prices are going to go up,” she said. “Therefore, first-time home buyers wanted to enter the market before that happened and that might have caused the price increase in the semis and townhomes. But overall, current home buyers are still waiting for lower interest rates.”
— With files from Patrick Cain
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