Things are looking up for the real estate market in Guelph, according to local experts. Or, at least balanced.
The Guelph & District Association of Realtors released its fall 2024 real estate market outlook, and is projecting a steady and improving market, fuelled in particular by recent interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada and unemployment rates well below the national average.
In a press release, GDAR said the Bank of Canada lowered the benchmark interest rate to 4.25 per cent, which is “expected to stimulate local housing activity as borrowing costs decrease.”
GDAR President Dillon Fraser believes the recent rate cut is likely to bring more buyers into the market, especially first-time homebuyers who couldn’t afford to before.
"With lower mortgage rates, we anticipate more demand for properties in Guelph and surrounding areas, contributing to a more active fall market,” he said.
There were a total of 342 homes sold through the MLS System of GDAR in July 2024, up by nearly nine per cent from July 2023.
Price-wise though, don’t expect too much change.
The average price of homes sold throughout July was $892,453, with a gain of 0.6 per cent from July 2023.
“We don’t have a crystal ball, of course, but we’re sitting on more inventory than we were back in COVID times. As long as we can continue to maintain that level of inventory (or better yet, increase it), we’ll be able to keep prices in check. But for the time being, it doesn’t seem as though things are going off the rails in the short-term,” Fraser said.
In the meantime, he said we’re in “a sweet spot for buyers and sellers.”
“Houses are on the market a little bit longer, and so it’s not as rushed for a buyer as it was (during the pandemic). At the same time, houses are still selling. People have more options.”
In other words, it’s a balanced market right now, which is good especially for those who are both buying and selling. But there is still a risk of volatility if the amount of inventory doesn’t keep up with demand.
“That’s why we’re continuing to try to encourage the city to make policy decisions that will foster more growth in terms of homes for people,” he said. “COVID really highlighted the fact that we haven’t been building to the degree that we were back 30 years ago.”
However, there is significantly more inventory right now when it comes to apartment-style condos compared to detached homes, because condos have been selling much slower post-pandemic.
This can be beneficial for first-time home buyers, he said, since it gives them more options.
