According to a recent May 4 Goodale Miller Team email, the market is balanced, meaning that if a property is priced right, it is selling, and Oakville's real estate stats for April 2023 support their statement.
A typical detached home in Oakville sold for $1.8 million, a steady price increase since December 2022. It was in April 2022 when a typical detached house last sold for $1.79 million; however, it is still off the $1.95 million that was attained at the height of the market in February 2022.
Bank of Canada's Tiff Macklem held the Bank of Canada rate as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) continued its rapid retreat as it fell to 4.3% or 1.6% in the last two months, or 3.8%, since it reached a peak of 8.1% in June 2022. If the inflation rate continues to decline, CPI may hit the magic 2% by mid-July. The question remains, will Mr. Macklen ease the Bank of Canada's rate if CPI falls below 2%?
"As demand for ownership housing has picked up relative to supply, we are seeing renewed upward pressure on home prices. For a short period of time, higher borrowing costs trumped the impact of the constrained housing supply in the GTA," commented TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.
GTA Update
Across the GTA, owners sold 7,531 (or 409 fewer properties) in April 2023 than in 2022, a 5% decrease. Over the same period, GTA property values decreased by 7% to $1,153,269, down $97,435 but up by 4% from March. This marks the third consecutive month of increasing prices.
Since January, home prices have risen 11% and are now on par with prices last recorded in June 2022.
"Renewed competition between buyers is once again shining the spotlight on the persistent lack of listings and resulting impact on affordability," continued Mercer.
Oakville Update
During the last month, sellers in Oakville listed 429 properties and sold 296, up by 18 from March. Available inventory declined to 2.4 months, down 0.1 from March.
The average residential property sold for $1.580 million, up $190,00 from March, wiping out the decrease realized in the preceding month; a sale took 26 days.
Buyers, on average, were paying 101% of the listed price, up 1% from March and the first time in months that buyers, on average, were paying more than list.
Year-over-year home prices
A typical residential property in Oakville is now going for $1.443 million, which has dropped by 7.75% since April 2022 but is up $40,000 from March 2023. An average detached home price is $1.868 million, down 6.89% but up $48,000 from the previous month.
An attached home is $1.231 million, down 4.41% from a year ago. A townhouse will run you 4.32% less at $928,000. A condominium apartment costs $664,700 - down 16.5% from last year and up from the previous month by $14,000. As buyers were priced out of more significant properties, they purchased apartments as prices in other categories receded.
April 2023 Oakville residential real estate statistics
| Type | Units Sold | Median Price | % LP to SP | DOM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | 163 | $1,839,000.00 | 101% | 17 |
| Semi-Detached | 12 | $1,240,000.00 | 106% | 13 |
| Link | 2 | $1,315,000.00 | 98% | 6 |
| Condo Apartment | 43 | $695,000.00 | 99% | 28 |
| Town House - Condo | 27 | $851,000.00 | 102% | 12 |
| Town House - Freehold | 49 | $1,236,000.00 | 103% | 18 |
DOM - total days a property is for sale; % LP to SP - the percentage difference between the list price and the sold price.
The best 5-year fixed-rate insured mortgage is 4.24%, which decreased by 0.05% from the March real estate update. However, a 3-year variable rate is available at 4.64%, down .45%. At least, according to major lenders, they are betting that the Bank of Canada will retreat from its current rate of 4.5%.