The Sudbury region is among the top three regions in Ontario with the highest rate of home sales growth in June, according to a study by real estate website and brokerage Zoocasa.
There were 356 homes sold in the Sudbury region in June, an increase of 27 per cent over June 2019. Furthermore, the average home price in the Sudbury region was $317,592, an increase of $33,978 over the year before, said the report.
Among all the regions included in its analysis, Zoocasa compared how average sold home prices and sales for June 2020 changed on an annual basis in 28 Ontario markets to get a better understanding of how the real estate market shifted in the last year.
Out of the 28 Ontario markets included in the study, Sudbury exhibited the most prominent seller’s market conditions with a sales-to-new-listings-ration (SNLR) (the ratio of the number of sales to the number of properties listed in a given period) of 87 per cent. A seller’s market exists when the SNLR is over 60 per cent.
It was even more competitive for Sudbury buyers this year compared to June 2019 when the SNLR was 64 per cent.
Dan Gray, president of the Sudbury Real Estate Board, verified those numbers.
“There’s no question it’s a seller’s market,” Gray said. “There are a lot more buyers than there are homes on the market right now, and between people wanting to upgrade their living quarters and buy a house and the low interest rates, there are a lot of homes going on the market getting multiple offers. Many that are priced for the market are selling above asking price.”
Mortgage rates right now for five years is 2.35 per cent, Gray said.
Gray’s comments echo that of the Zoocasa report.
“Pent-up buyer demand from April and May, when economic uncertainty was the highest, may have been a contributor to these higher levels of sales in June,” said Zoocasa in the report.
Five other Ontario markets saw annual sales growth, with Barrie taking the top spot with an increase of 41 per cent in June 2020 compared to June 2019. The average home price in Barrie in June 2020 was $556,932, up 14 per cent (or $67,591) from June 2019.
Pickering came in third, followed by Thunder Bay Region, then Clarington.
Meanwhile, nine markets in Ontario saw the average home price increase more than $100,000 in June 2020, compared to June 2019.
Oakville’s average home price was $1,249,685 in June 2020, up 17 per cent (or $177,550) over the year before. A total of 322 homes were sold last month in that market, up five per cent from the year before.
Markham was a very close second in terms of the level of increase in home prices. The average home price in Markham in June 2020 was $1,086,502, up 19 per cent (or $171,726) over the year before. A total of 333 homes were sold, a decrease of three per cent from the year before.
Aurora rounded out the top three markets with the highest increase in home prices, with the average price at $1,068,255, up 16 per cent (or $149,010). Only 87 homes were sold in Aurora in June 2020, a 14-per-cent decrease over the year before.
Mississauga, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Newmarket, Halton Hills and Toronto finished off the list, respectively.
Zoocasa said in its report the statistics for June shows home sales and new listings rebounded to normal levels across the entire country, following a period of historic lows in April and May due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Almost one million jobs were added back to the Canadian economy in June, and the housing market showed signs of growing “cautious optimism” among buyers and sellers, said the Canadian Real Estate Association.
Home sales across Canada jumped 63 per cent since May, with an almost 50-per-cent monthly spike in new listings, arguably due to the new mortgage borrowing criteria that took effect July 1, as announced by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Gray said with the strength of the real estate market right now, he encourages sellers to call a real estate agent of their choice and list their home at market price. Real estate agents are also working with safety measures in mind from the COVID-19 pandemic.
