Niagara Association of REALTORS®

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Niagara Association of REALTORS® (NAR) totaled 588 units in June 2024. This was a substantial decrease of 12.6% from June 2023.

Home sales were 19.3% below the five-year average and 25.7% below the 10-year average for the month of June.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 3,489 units over the first six months of the year. This was a slight reduction of 0.6% from the same period in 2023.

“Sales activity was still trending at below-average levels in June even as new listings rose to the second highest level for this month on record,” said Nathan Morrissette, President of the Niagara Association of REALTORS® (NAR). “Sellers are obviously still out in force, anticipating a revival in demand that doesn’t quite seem to have materialized yet even in the wake of the Bank of Canada’s long-awaited interest rate cut. Would-be buyers may be seeking more certain signs that rates are indeed on their way back down after the latest inflation reading introduced uncertainty on the timing of future rate cuts, but those who choose to get back into the market now will find ample selection and many good offers to be had.”

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) tracks price trends far more accurately than is possible using average or median price measures. The overall MLS® HPI composite benchmark price was $651,800 in June 2024, a minor decrease of 2.5% compared to June 2023.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $667,100, a small reduction of 2.5% on a year-over-year basis in June. By comparison, the benchmark price for townhouse/row units was $624,800, edging down 0.4% compared to a year earlier, while the benchmark apartment price was $446,700, a modest decline of 3.4% from year-ago levels.

The average price of homes sold in June 2024 was $724,444, decreasing by 2.2% from June 2023.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $695,842, a modest decline of 1% from the first six months of 2023.

The dollar value of all home sales in June 2024 was $426 million, down sharply by 14.6% from the same month in 2023.

The number of new listings saw a minor increase of 2.4% from June 2023. There were 1,601 new residential listings in June 2024.

New listings were 7.8% above the five-year average and 17% above the 10-year average for the month of June.

Active residential listings numbered 3,122 units on the market at the end of June, a jump of 36.5% from the end of June 2023. Active listings haven’t been this high in the month of June in more than a decade.

Active listings were 53.4% above the five-year average and 54.6% above the 10-year average for the month of June.

Months of inventory numbered 5.3 at the end of June 2024, up from the 3.4 months recorded at the end of June 2023 and above the long-run average of 2.8 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.