While Sudbury may have seen one of the highest jumps in the average price of homes last month, the city is still one of the most affordable places in Canada to buy a home, said a recent report from online real estate broker Zoocasa.
The Zoocasa report takes data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) for its report. Of the 25 regional housing markets included in CREA’s monthly report, 24 markets posted a year-over-year increase in the average home price, ranging from five per cent to 41 per cent, and just one market – Regina – saw the average home price decrease by three per cent to $273,885. Further, 12 housing markets, or almost half of the areas included in the report, posted a growth in the average home price of at least 20 per cent.
Greater Sudbury’s average home price in January was $356,633, up 38 per cent when compared to January 2020, said the report.
Furthermore, there were 149 homes sold in Sudbury in January 2021, said the report, an increase of 54 per cent over the year before.
In comparison, both London and St. Thomas and the Niagara Region saw the average home price increase by 41 per cent to $698,049 and $651,138 respectively.
Sudbury’s average price is still well below the national average price of $621,525, which is a 23-per-cent jump from over January 2020.
Tyler Peroni, chair of the Sudbury Real Estate Board, said the numbers in the Zoocasa report are certainly accurate, but they are taken from a small sample size.
If you were to look at 2020 as a whole, and compare it to prices now, the increase would be more around 25 per cent, he said.
Housing market conditions across Canada resulted in a new record for home sales in January, with 36,897 homes changing hands — a 35.2-per-cent increase on a year-over-year basis, according to the report.
By comparison, new listings dropped nationally by 2.9 per cent year-over-year, with just 52,342 properties being added to the market last month.
“It’s basically just supply and demand,” Peroni said. “Listings are down 10.5 per cent just from January of last year to January of this year.”
January 2020 had 96 house sales in Sudbury, whereas, January 2021 had 149 sales.
“We have less homes to sell, but more people looking for homes,” said Peroni. “It has created bidding wars and a seller’s market, and most homes are being sold for more than the asking price right now.”
With the more affordable houses in Greater Sudbury, Peroni said more and more people from southern Ontario are giving up their big-city lifestyles and choosing to live in Northern Ontario.
“We are seeing it more and more, and especially within the last few months,” said Peroni. “I worked with a buyer recently who sold their Toronto condo and wanted to move to Sudbury, and the list is just growing each month.”
The unfortunate side effect of increasing home prices is increasing rental prices, said Peroni, who has been chair of the Sudbury Real Estate Board since September. He has been a real estate agent for seven year.
Thinking of buying or selling your home?
“Work with a professional realtor with the Sudbury Real Estate Board,” Peroni said. “It may seem easy to sell a home in a seller’s market, but working with a professional will go a long way in making sure everything is done correctly and helps ensure you are getting the best deal, whether you’re a seller or a buyer.”
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, , as the spring market approaches, the current pace of home sales growth might be inhibited by an evident lack of supply, particularly in Ontario markets, to meet growing home-buyer demand.
However, CREA notes that new supply “could materialize as current COVID-19 restrictions are increasingly eased and the weather starts to improve.”
