Housing prices in Greater Sudbury are down approximately 12 per cent from their latest peak in April 2022.
“We did see some trending downward in the second half of the year, and that’s kind of continued on into this year,” Sudbury Real Estate Board chair Adam Haight told Sudbury.com, adding the latest data hasn’t been released yet, but that the average sale price in 2022 was $467,035.
Last year’s average price was an increase of 15.7 per cent compared to the previous year.
The current average sale price in Greater Sudbury is currently in the ballpark of approximately $450,000-460,000, Haight said.
“The supply is still extremely low,” he said. “We have very few houses on the market, but we’re not seeing the same pressures we were getting, especially from southern Ontario buyers early last year.”
There are currently fewer than 100 listings in the city and a total of 200 when also including the outlying area, which Haight described as “extremely low compared to the normal times, when you might see 500 to 700 listings at a given time.”
The Greater Sudbury area has been struggling with inventory for the past year-plus, he said, and hasn’t been keeping up with demand.
Rising interest rates are also playing a role, perhaps most notably among investors from southern Ontario, who were buying up multi-unit residential buildings early last year. While an interest rate hike of one or two per cent might mean little to the average homeowner, Haight said it adds up when investors are dealing with multiple units.
The area of greatest demand at the moment is single-family houses — the “bread and butter” of the local real estate market, Haight said.
Less-expensive starter homes, and people transitioning into their second home at a higher price point are both the most popular and in limited supply.
A recent report by the Sudbury Real Estate Board noted that last year’s home sales declined, but still constituted one of the highest annual totals in the area’s history.
With 108 units sold in December 2022, the month’s sales were down 21.3 per cent below the five-year average and 14.1 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of December.
Home sales totalled 2,844 units last year, which was a 18.9-per-cent reduction from 2021, but still ranked in the top five years on record.
In Ontario, the average house price was $812,338 in December 2022, according to The Canadian Real Estate Association data, which was a 12.2-per-cent drop from December 2021.
In the rental market, Greater Sudbury’s stable rates bucked a national trend last year, which found the average rate for a two-bedroom apartment jump by 5.6 per cent compared to 2021.
Average market rental rates remained statistically unchanged last year, which was a significant departure from the 8.4 per cent increase recorded in 2021. Last year’s average market rental rate for a two-bedroom apartment was $1,254.
Reflecting on the local economy as a whole, Haight said that Sudbury’s in good shape.
“We have strong industry and a strong economy, so I expect that 2023 will again be a busy year.”
Prices may come down a bit, which he said might make homeownership a bit more affordable for some, but that it’s still a great time to sell as well.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
