Over the last year, so many things have changed and yet we find ourselves still in a very similar situation. Lockdown 3.0 is still underway and while we are in a similar situation to where we were a year ago it definitely feels very different. As for the Orangeville real estate market, the month of April 2021 is almost the complete opposite of what happened one year ago. Only one year ago our local real estate market, like most everything else, more or less stopped in the uncertainty of the initial wave of COVID-19. One year later it is hard to imagine the market being any more active. We are still suffering from a shortage of homes for sale but there continues to be an abundance of active buyers ready to purchase homes in Orangeville and the surrounding areas.
The Month of April
The monthly stats for April show some wild swings in the amount of activity, when looking at these number you have to remember that April 2020 was when we were in the middle of the first wave of COVID-19 and our local market had a “once in a lifetime” spring when everything, real estate included, shutdown. The changes year over year show some crazy numbers that I will try to put into some context.
There were 88 homes listed for sale in the month of April, this is a 166.67% increase from the 33 homes listed in April 2020 but is comparable to the number of listings in 2019 (94) and 2018 (83).
As has been the trend in recent months, the number of sales has remained strong with much of the new inventory of homes for sale being sold in the month with 83 sales, a 492.86% increase from the 14 sales in April 2020. The 83 sales in April 2021 is also significantly higher than the sales figures from 2019 (63) and 2018 (53).
The Sales to New Listing Ratio for the month of April 2021 was 94.3% which indicates that there remains an imbalance in our local market with many buyers and not enough homes for sale for them to buy.
The Average Sales Price in the month of April 2021 was $786,219, this is 45.42% higher than the $540,664 average sales price in April 2020. The average sales price in April 2021 decreased 2.67% from the average sales price a month earlier in March 2021 of $808,540, this is due to a combination of the mix of properties being sold and a lower sales price to list price ratio.
The average Sales Price to List Price Ratio for the month of April 2021 has remained high at 106% however this is lower than this figure was in March (110%) and is an indication of some better pricing of homes by sellers combined with Buyers not offering as much of a premium for homes that are for sale.
The Average Days on Market for the month of April was 10, which is a little higher than it has been in the previous months but is still very low when compared to historical figures and is another indication of the imbalance in the Orangeville real estate market.
At the end of April, there were 35 homes listed for sale. This number continues to be concerning and with continued low inventory levels I would expect to see prices continue to stay high, and competition for homes in Orangeville to be fierce.
With 83 sales in the month of April and only 35 homes available for sale at the end of the month there is currently 0.4 months of inventory in our market. The low inventory continues to be the major issue affecting the Orangeville real estate market.
Year-to-Date April 2021
Much like the monthly stats, the year-to-date statistics are difficult to compare to the same period last year as 2020 was such an unusual year with very low activity, but 2021 has been very active and has outpaced both 2019 and 2018 by most metrics. 2021 is on pace to be one of the most active years for real estate that we have seen in Orangeville.
In the first four months of 2021, there have been 352 homes listed for sale an increase of 53.04% over the same period in 2020 and higher than the 287 homes listed in 2019 and the 255 homes listed in 2018.
There were 291 homes sold in the period from January to April this year, a 96.62% increase from the 148 homes sold in the same period of 2020.
The Sales to New Listings ratio for the January to April 2021 period is 82.67%. This is an indication that there just aren’t enough homes for sale to satisfy the demand from buyers.
The Average Sales Price year-to-date is $787,702 this is a 31.02% increase over the same period in 2020 and is in line with how this figure has trended for much of 2021 and has slightly decreased from the average at the end of March.
Sales Price to List Price ratio remains high with the average home selling for 108% of the list price, and the average days on market remains very low with homes selling after only 9 days on the market.
What Does All This Mean?
2021 has started with a very active real estate market and the statistics continue to show that demand is outpacing supply and there is a shortage of homes available for sale and when homes come available they are selling fast and often for more than the asking price and in multiple offers.
For the Buyers, not much has changed the market remains very competitive. The April numbers show some signs of cooling but, make no mistake about it the real estate market is still unbalanced and we remain in a Seller Market in Orangeville. The best advice I can give to anyone that is looking to buy a home is to make sure that you have your finances in order, you have been preapproved for a mortgage and you are ready to act quickly when you find the right house comes up for sale. You need to understand your budget, and know how much you are comfortable spending on a home.
It remains a fantastic time to sell real estate, demand for homes remains very high and inventory levels are historically low, causing many homes to sell for over the list price and in a short period of time. With that said there are two major concerns with selling your home right now, the first is around health and safety during the pandemic and the second is that if you are thinking of selling your home you need to find a home to buy in this market. Both of these concerns are very real for many potential home Sellers and there are pros and cons to offering your home for sale in this market.
If you would like to know more about how these stats impact your specific situation or if you would like to know what your home might be worth in the current market I would love to discuss the specifics of your situation over a phone call or video chat.
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