The spring weather has arrived and we have just begun our third Province-wide lockdown. The Orangeville real estate market continues to be active. There have been a high number of homes coming onto the market and the demand has continued to keep pace with the new inventory with most homes selling quickly for over list price.
As I present the statistics for the month of March keep in mind that the original COVID lockdown occurred in March of last year and we saw a decline in market activity in the last two weeks of March 2020.
The Month of March
In March there were 146 homes listed for sale, this is a very strong number for our market, it is 100% higher than the 73 homes listed in March 2020 and significantly higher than the numbers for the previous two years (90 homes listed in March 2019 and 83 homes listed in March 2018).
Keeping pace with the number of new listings there were 114 sales recorded in the month of March, this is a 132% increase from the 49 sales in March 2020.
The sales to new listings ratio for March was 78.1% as compared to 67.1% in March 2020.
The average sales price in the month of March was $808,540 an increase of 31.31% compared to the $615,760 average in March 2020. This is the first time the average sales price in Orangeville has topped $800,000.
The sales price to list price ratio was 110% in March, this is an indication of the number of qualified buyers active in our market and the bidding wars that continue to happen as homes come on the market.
The average days on market for the month of March was 6, this is a very low number, and realistically could be even lower if sellers were not holding offers.
At the end of March, there were 40 active listings which is a 23.08% decrease from the 52 homes available for sale at the end of March 2020. This is an extremely low number of homes available for sale.
With 40 homes available for sale at the end of the month and 114 sales in the month of March, there is currently 0.4 months of inventory on the market, indicating this is a strong seller's market.
Year-to-Date March 2021
Through the first quarter of 2021, there have been 264 homes listed for sale, a 34.01% increase compared to the first quarter of 2020.
208 homes have sold in the first three months of the year compared to 135 homes in the first quarter of 2020, a 54.07% increase in sales.
The sales to new listings ratio is 78.8% so far this year, as compared to 68.5% in the first three months of 2020.
The average sales price in the first quarter of 2021 has increased by 30.05% to $788,294 compared to $606,124 in the first three months of 2020.
The sales price to list price ratio is 109% for the first quarter of 2021, meaning that the average home is selling for 109% of the list price. This compares to the ratio of 100% for the first quarter of 2020.
What Does All This Mean?
March was a very active month for real estate in Orangeville, where we saw a large number of homes come available for sale and much of that inventory sold during the month. Generally, in March we see inventory begin to increase in order to satisfy the demand of the coming spring market, this year buyers have remained active since January and we continue to see very low inventory levels. The story here is one of supply and demand and the inventory has not been able to satisfy demand so far in 2021.
If you are a buyer in this market, it can be frustrating, when the homes you are looking at are selling in multiple offers and for above the asking price. What you can do is be prepared to act when homes come available, by having your finances in order and your budget set for what you want to spend. Remember that since the average sales price to list price ratio is around 110% you should keep that in mind when you are looking at homes and don’t always shop at the upper limit of your budget and expect to get those homes.
For anyone that has been considering selling their home, right now is a great opportunity to unlock the equity you have built up over the years. The demand for homes in the Orangeville area continues to be very strong and hasn’t sown signs of slowing so far this year. How we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the rollout of vaccinations will play a huge role in how the local real estate market performs for the remainder of this year.
If you would like to talk about the Orangeville real estate market and how what has been going on impacts your specific situation, please send me a note, I would love to chat.
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