Market Intelligence, Real Estate News | January 11, 2022

And Just like that, December Ends with A Bang

December is typically the slowest month of the year in real estate sales, and this year we did see a slow in the number of sales compared to the month November and even compared to December 2020.

However, there was a significant decrease in available inventory available for purchase, the decrease in supply was much greater than the decrease in sales therefore prices continued to increase in December 2021 over November 2021 and well over the same period in 2020.

Prices for single family increased 37% compared to December 2020 and 30% increase in prices for condominiums compared to December 2020. Townhome price increases were the most significant with a 40% increase in prices compared to the same month last year. This means it is still a seller’s market and the decrease in sales can be attributed to the decrease in supply available to purchase in addition to the typical holiday slow down as people focus on family for the last half of the month. These large year over year increases in price and losses of supply in addition to no large increases in supply foreseen in the near future show that 2021 went out with a bang of increased values for homeowners and lead to the assumption that 2022 will see more of the same.

There have been no new announcements from the provincial government on its new ‘cooling off’ period discussed in December and November. This will continue to be monitored closely and updated as soon as more information becomes available.

Interest rates were expected to increase in the first quarter of 2022; however, this may be delayed due to the current pandemic situation and the new Omicron variant. This means potential purchasers still have a chance to purchase in the first part of 2022 at some of the lowest interest in history maintaining their current buying power. Once interest increase this purchasing power will diminish as the cost of borrowing goes up and the amount current incomes qualify to borrow will be reduced when the cost to borrow goes up.

Pre-sales that offer a blanket appraisal from specific lenders are a great option to purchase today at today’s interest rates and see an increase in equity before any mortgage payments become due. With the blanket appraisal the bank offering it holds the interest rate for 2 to 3 years depending on product type or until the new development is completed, unlike a typical pre-approval from the majority of lenders and brokers that only lasts 3 to 6 months. Pre-sales are also a great way to get in the market without having to compete against other offers for the same home as the current resale and escalating prices shown in this report prove.