June 6, 2021
Transactions of residential Pickering Real Estate reported through TRREB’s MLS® System remained high with 184 total sales in May 2021, but fell short of the 2016 record and were below this year’s March peak of 245. Despite a slight ebb in sales over the last two months, market conditions remained tight with plenty of bidding wars but average selling price inched downwards in May to $902,135.
The 184 sales for Pickering in May 2021 was nearly double the sales in May 2020 when there were 97 total sales- the second full month of the pandemic. Often, May is the strongest sales month in any given year; however, 2021 results bucked this trend, with May sales below the 245 deals reported in March.
The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark for Pickering was up by over 29 per cent year-over-year in May 2021. The average selling price across all home types was up by 23 per cent year-over-year, reaching $902,135. That's bananas!
That being said, the downward trend of average prices since March is something to monitor. Average prices are down 12% and median prices are down 4.4%.
With only a few hundred sales each month, the average and median prices in Pickering can be skewed by a few outliers so it's silly to react wildly to small fluctuations in the market.
I'll keep an eye on this in any case.
While sales have trended off the March 2021 peak, so too have new listings. This means that people actively looking to purchase a home continue to face a lot of competition from other buyers, which results in strong upward pressure on selling prices. We shall see if this holds true as we head into summer.
While most agents and news outlets are talking about where the market has been and how "crazy" it's gotten, I'm more concerned with where we're heading.
I track the relationship between the sales and active listings to gauge how well-supplied our market is. The nice thing about this metric is that it normally follows a predictable trend which I've found to be reliable when making predictions about the future.
The trend now is toward a better supplied market where sales and active listings are more equitable. If this continues, expect fewer bidding wars and for prices to stabilize somewhat in the short term.
If you're selling in the next few months, don't expect 10+ offers on your home. Frankly, home prices have escalated to the point that affordability has made the buyer pool more shallow than it's been in some time.
To sum it up, after a wild ride to end 2020 and peaking in March 2021 the Pickering Real Estate Market appears headed for a relatively normal summer. Bidding wars will be less common which is welcomed relief for fatigued home buyers.
Now get out there and enjoy the summer. Head down to the Waterfront and hit the trail or grab an ice cream.
If you have any questions, leave a comment below.
About the author
Hi,
I'm Dean
This monthly report is geared 100% towards the market where I live and work; Pickering, ON.
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