Consider it stable.
At least that’s how the Barrie and District Association of Realtors (BDAR) has defined the local real estate market after releasing its latest round of monthly statistics. According to the organization, a total of 699 homes were sold in Simcoe County in April, a “slight decrease” of 8.2 per cent from the same month in 2023.
The average selling price of homes within the county came in at $859,161 last month, declining 1.4 per cent from April 2023.
“Despite a slight dip in sales year-over-year, buoyed by a surge in new listings, buyers enjoyed increased choices while prices held steady,” BDAR chair Lindsay Percy said. “As we look ahead, the expectation is that lower borrowing costs will allow more buyers to enter the market toward the second half of the year and into 2025, prompting tighter market conditions and higher sale prices.”
Despite some fluctuations, the local market continues to offer opportunities for both purchasers and sellers, Percy said.
New listings reached 2,041 last month, almost unchanged from April 2023. However, active listings “surged” by 52.1 per cent year-over-year. And the available months of inventory, a key indicator of market balance, increased by 65.6 per cent between last month and April 2023, BDAR says.
Bradford, specifically, saw 55 sales and an average price of $1.15 million last month — a drop of 20.3 and 1.9 per cent, respectively, from April 2023. However, new listings (129), active listings (135) and months of inventory (2.5) were all up substantially — reaching 57.3-, 107.7- and 160.6-per-cent year-over-year growth.
Meanwhile in Innisfil, there were 65 homes sold last month, down 12.2 per cent from the same month a year prior. However, the average price hit $923,240, up nearly three per cent year-over-year. Also of note, there were 205 new listings (down 1.9 per cent from April 2023), 309 active listings (up 40.5 per cent) and 4.8 months of inventory available (up 59.9 per cent).
Here’s how three other municipalities within the BDAR coverage area fared last month:
- Barrie — Overall, 211 homes sold in April, down 11.7 per cent from the same month the year prior. The average sale price was $766,924 last month, a .7-per-cent increase from one year ago. New listings dropped 17.7 per cent to 592 over that span, though active listings did climb 52.1 per cent to 651. There is 3.1 months’ worth of inventory left on the city’s market, up 72.3 per cent from a year ago.
- Essa — Thirty-five units sold (a 14.6-per-cent drop) for an average of $791,747 (a .8-per-cent dip). New listings were down almost four per cent to 73, but active listings jumped 72.9 per cent to 83, and there were 2.4 months of inventory, up 102.6 per cent from April 2023.
- Orillia — Thirty-seven units sold (a 54.2-per-cent increase) for an average of $666,768 (down 3.4 per cent). New listings fell 2.3 per cent to 86, active listings increased 55.1 per cent to 121, and there were 3.3 months of inventory available, up .6 per cent from April 2023.
Ontario home prices also held stable in April, continuing a trend from March that ended a five-month fall, figures released earlier this week by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show.
On a year-over-year basis, the average single-family home in the province sold for $950,800 last month, up 1.8 per cent from the $934,300 they sold for in April 2023.
The numbers are seasonally adjusted and do not take inflation into account.
Inflation, depending on what measure you choose, is running at between 3.4 and 3.7 per cent.
“April 2023 was characterized by a surge of buyers re-entering a market with new listings at 20-year lows, whereas this spring thus far has been the opposite, with a healthier number of properties to choose from but less enthusiasm on the demand side,” CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart said.
On a provincewide basis, prices for condos in a year-over-year comparison were essentially unchanged, at a nearly .1 per cent increase, and townhouses were up 1.8 per cent, similar to single-family houses.
“After a long hibernation, the spring market is now officially underway," CREA chair James Mabey said. “Mortgage rates are still high, and it remains difficult for a lot of people to break into the market but, for those who can, it’s the first spring market in some time where they can shop around, take their time and exercise some bargaining power."
BDAR represents more than 1,600 realtors in the Barrie and Simcoe County region. For more information, visit bdar.ca.
Use the interactive graph below to explore your region.
— With files from Patrick Cain
