July home sales in Kitchener and Waterloo showed signs of a typical summer slowdown.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors said the 504 residential sales in the area represented a decline of nearly 17 per cent compared to June, and June’s numbers were down nearly 13 per cent compared to May.
Year-over-year, July’s sales marked a 10.6 per cent drop compared to July 2017.
“The story for July is largely more of the same that we’ve been seeing for most of 2018,” association president Tony Schmidt said in a news release. “The number of sales has decreased from what we were seeing the past couple of years to more typical levels, but the value of homes not only remains steady but continues to gradually increase.”
Average prices continue to edge higher compared with 2017, rising 5.5 per cent in July to $480,145 compared to a year ago. The median price of $443,700 was up about seven per cent. However, July prices were down slightly from June’s average of $489,584 and median price of $450,000.
Detached home prices are showing strong gains, selling for an average of $584,337 in July, up 12.4 per cent over last year; the median detached price rose 12.8 per cent to $530,000. Prices also rose compared to June, when the detached average price was $575,003 and the median was $520,000.
“The competition from buyers is still out there, but not nearly as prevalent as the past two years,” Schmidt noted.
Homes in the $400,000 to $600,000 range are the fastest-selling. “I think this reflects both the move-up market as well as the typical home that buyers who migrated down the 401 were purchasing,” said Schmidt.
Association realtors listed 739 homes for sale in the area last month, a drop of 8.9 per cent compared to July 2017, and down from the 850 properties listed in June.
There were 1,062 active listings on the association’s multiple listing system at the end of July — 3.3 per cent higher than a year ago, but far from the 10-year average of 1,885. It took 23 days, on average for a home to sell last month, on par with July 2017.