Seller’s Markets Still Exist Amid Housing Shift

Five Ontario cities are still experiencing a seller’s market despite rising interest rates, according to a new report by Canadian real estate website Zoocasa.

Predominantly located in northwestern Ontario, they include Thunder Bay, Sault St. Marie, North Bay and Sudbury, where home prices are well below the Canadian average of $644,643, making these cities a more affordable place to buy while interest rates are high. Of them, Sudbury has the highest average price of $436,000, while Sault St. Marie has the lowest at just under $300,000. The fifth city is Guelph whose average home price is $810,200.

All 19 cities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are reported as balanced markets. Given the Bank of Canada’s recent rate hike of 50 basis points on Dec. 7, bringing the overnight lending rate to 4.25%, and talks of another rate increase in late January, it may be some time before the area begins favouring sellers again.

Burlington, Milton and Caledon have seen the sharpest declines in the GTA. Burlington’s sales-to-new-listings (SNLR) ratio for October fell 39% year-over-year.

The SNLR is calculated by dividing the number of sales by new listings in each region. This shows the level of supply and demand, and helps identify how much competition local buyers face.

Only one city in the province is currently a buyer’s market — Niagara Falls. The average home price there is $640,000. Last year, the city was a seller’s market.