Reviewing December 2022 market in Wellington County
What a year 2022 was. We saw some highs, we saw some lows. Nonetheless, Wellington County real estate wrapped up the year in balanced market despite the continued drop in unit sales over the last 2 quarters of the year. The YTD average and median sale prices are still higher than they were this time last year, which means real estate is holding a strong foundation in our region as we move into 2023.
End of year (2022) real estate market overview video:
For Wellington County, the year to date sales volume at end of December was down 17.3% from 2021 numbers, where 2022 sales volume ended the year with over $2.989B at end of December compared to 2021 year end volume of $3.614B. Concurrently, the YTD unit sales were at 3,412 by the end of 2022, down 22% compared to 2021’s year end 4,363 units sold in the county.
During the month of December, sales volume was down 37% with $106M, and actual unit sales were also down almost 12% with only150 units sold compared to last December’s 170 units sold. There were also additional 15% new listings in December with 178 new listings last month relative to only 155 new listings of December 2021. Thus, a plethora of new listings on the market for buyers, combined with the continued buyer demand dropping off by the actual unit number of sales decreasing.
The buyer activity that occurred continued to maintain prices, and the year-over-year median sales price was at $793,750 at end of year for 2022, which still shows an almost 9% increase over the 2021 median of $730,000. And year-to-date average sales prices continued that trend, although again lower than last months’, the average sale price increased almost 5% relative to 2021 resulting in an average sales price of $876,258 at end of 2022 vs. average price of $834,986 just one year ago in the region.
Wellington County strong market continues with prices still up in the region over last year, however, average & median sales prices are once again down over prior months. The average year to date sales prices in Wellington county for each type are:
Freehold Homes: $1,039,443 (Average sales price at year ended 2022)
Condominium homes: $660,194 (Average sales price at year ended 2022)
Vacant land sales: $1,415,577 (Average sales price at year ended 2022)
Real estate activity has seen a downturn over the last 9 months, however, prices in Wellington county still have a solid foundation as year-to-date average and median sales prices still remain higher than they were this time last year. With the continued uncertainty in the economy, increases in interest rates, and lessening home buyer demand, we have seen home sellers adjusting their expectations as we move into the 2023 market.
Nationally, the aggregate home price was down 2.8% in Q4 2022 vs. the prior year; first year-over-year decline recorded in more than a decade, and Canada’s housing market closed out 2022 much as expected. While the red-hot market conditions are behind us, there remains a widespread shortage of homes in Canada that cannot be offset by temporarily cooling demand. It is projected that the aggregate price of a home in Canada will decrease a modest 1.0 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to the same quarter in 2022. The year-over-year comparison in the first quarter of 2023 will show the steepest decline in prices (due to the peak prices of 2022). On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the national aggregate home price is expected to flatten in Q2, before beginning to modestly recover over the remainder of the year. At the same time, year-over-year comparisons are expected to show progressively less price decline as the year goes on.
If you’re considering making a move in the new year, or would just like to know more about real estate in the region in today’s market, contact me at 519-824-9050 ext. 235.
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