The
329 residential sales through the Multiple Listing Service
(MLS®) of the Kitchener-Waterloo
Association of REALTORS®
(KWAR) in December mirrored sales from the previous year.
December’s
results bring the total number of residential homes sold by
REALTORS®
through the KWAR MLS® System in 2011 to 6,252, a 2.1 percent
decrease compared to 2010.
The
total dollar volume of all residential properties sold last
year increased 1.8 percent to $1,881,532,761, reflecting the
steady price gains, and ongoing demand for homes in the higher
price ranges.
The
average price of all residential properties sold in 2011
increased 4 percent to $300,949. Single detached homes sold
for an average price of $342,659 in 2011, a 3.9 percent
increase relative to 2010. In the condominium market the
average sale price in 2011 was $205,354, a 3.5 percent
increase over the previous year.
“2011
was a great year for home buying and selling,” says Sara Hill,
president of the KWAR. “Waterloo region continues to be
a desirable place to live with a strong local economy. Low
interest rates certainly continued to support buyers while
sellers benefited from steady gains in home
prices.”
Home
sales in 2011 included 4,118 detached homes (down 0.3 percent
from 2010), 1,200 condos (down 1.7 percent from 2010), 497
semis (down 1.4 percent from 2010), and 372 townhouses (down
21.5 percent from 2010).
Looking
back at 2011, the president of the KWAR observed that the
beginning of the year started with slower sales activity and
that by June, sales started to gain
momentum.
“Moderate
demand in early 2011 was likely the result of the many buyers
who purchased in the latter part of 2009 and early 2010 to
avoid anticipated higher mortgage rates, and the HST,” says
Hill. “Then, when adjustments to the rules for
government-backed insured mortgages were implemented in March
of 2011, this may have further impacted the ability for some
to enter the housing market, particularly first-time buyers.”
First-time buyers are an important segment of the KW real
estate market, according to the president of the KWAR,
“because the population of KW is younger than the provincial
average.”
