January 2020 – Average Detached Home price exceeds $800K for the first time.

There were 351 residential homes sold through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS® System) of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of REALTORS® in January.

This was an increase of 24.9 per cent compared to January 2020, and an increase of 1.4 per cent compared to the previous month. The previous 10-year average number of residential sales for January is 286.

“January’s home sales were more active than what we typically see this time of year,” says Nicole Pohl, President of KWAR. “But nothing has been typical about our housing market.”

Total residential sales in January included 201 detached (up 31.3 per cent from January 2020), and 71 condominium units (up 97 per cent). Sales also included 21 semi-detached homes (unchanged) and 56 freehold townhouses (down 17.6 per cent).

In January, the average sale price of all residential properties sold in 2021 increased by 23.9 per cent to $695,582 compared to the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the average price of a detached home hit a new milestone by exceeding 800-thousand-dollars for the first time, coming in at $853,945 an increase of 27.3 per cent.

During this same period, the average sale price for an apartment-style condominium was $383,196 for a decrease of 1.4 per cent. Townhomes and semis sold for an average of $566,345 (up 29 per cent) and $626,512 (up 29.3 per cent) respectively.

The median price of all residential properties sold in January increased 25.9 per cent to $680,000 and the median price of a detached home during the same period increased 23.3 per cent to $801,500.

“With demand for homes unabated and consumer preferences leaning predominantly toward single detached homes, in January we saw buyers paying a premium for this property type,” says Pohl.

“Conversely, even as condo sales were increasing in January, we saw prices for this style of housing soften by comparison.”

KWAR’s president points to supply not being able to keep up with continuing demand, much of it coming from the GTA, for the strong increases in home prices in Waterloo Region and in many other parts across the province.

The number of months of inventory in the Waterloo region has numbered less than 1 month since October. The number of months of inventory represents how long it would take to sell off current inventories at the current rate of sales.

There were 432 new listings added to the MLS® System in KW and area last month, a decrease of 7.4 per cent compared to January of last year, and 37.6 per cent decrease compared to the previous ten-year average for January.

The average number of days to sell in January was 16 days, compared to 22 days in January 2020 and a previous 5-year average of 30 days.