Update: Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Market, March 2010

Best March EVER with 731 homes sold in Kitchener Waterloo

Days on market is down from 55 to 43 for the year.

Sales to active ratio 25.8%  was 16.2% in 2009, meaning 1 in 4 listed homes is selling each month, or that we currently have a 4 month supply of listings.

 Sales$ to list$ ratio was 98.4% - it was  97.7% 2009.  That means that the average home for sale in Waterloo ended up selling for 98.4% of the price it was listed for – so on average, a home listed for sale at 200K is selling for $196,800

 Average sale price for a detached home is up 14.2% to $322,974 for the year.

 Average sale price for a semi-detached house in Kitchener Waterloo is also up 6.1%, to $213,602 for the year.

 Average sale price for freehold townhomes down 8.9% to $228,768 for the year.
New listings up 23.2% for the month to 1133 and number of listings for the year 2892 is up 13.5%.

In terms of the Condo market in Kitchener Waterloo, there were 117 condos sold in march, (MLS areas 1,2,3 & 4), a 51.9% increase from march 2009

Why has March been so busy?

It’s a good question, and I think there are two main reasons, relating to the way you can finance properties.

1) New CMHC Mortgage Rules

-As of April 19, people will now have to be able to qualify for a more expensive fixed rate loan, even if they choose a variable rate.

-The new mortgage rules in Canada (see: How will CMHC’s new mortgage rules impact real estate investors in Canada?) that is having the biggest impact, I think, is that Real Estate Investors will have to put down (in most cases) 20% per rental property, whereas now that minimum downpayment rate is 5%.  Investors looking to get into the market may be rushing to do so before the rules change

2) Interest Rates Going Up!

I love cheap money, but rates have nowhere to go but up (and that’s actually healthy for our economy).  People know that if they buy a house in 6 months, and rates have gone up, that home will cost them more money, even if the price is the same,

 If you have any questions about the Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate market, contact me at Benjamin@BenjaminBach.com or 519 772 4376