April Showers Brought May Flowers…and Home Buyers
KITCHENER-WATERLOO, ON (May 6, 2013) –– Residential property sales through the Multiple Listing System (MLS® System) of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of REALTORS® (KWAR) in April were identical compared to April last year.
Home sales in April were 1.9 percent above the 5-year average for the month. There were a total of 683 residential properties sold in the month of April compared to 683 the same time last year. In comparison to March, residential sales grew 11.6 percent, continuing the trend of increasing home sales since the beginning of 2013.
“Low interest rates and a strong local economy continue to make it favourable for people to invest in homes in the Region,” says Dietmar Sommerfeld, President of KWAR. “This April set a record for dollar volume of sales compared to the last 10 years.”
April’s sales included 471 single detached homes (up 3.5 % from last year) 117 condominium units (down 7.9 %), 47 semi-detached (down 14.5 %) and 41 freehold townhouses (down 2.4 %). Year-to-date residential sales were only 1.1 percent below the 5-year average with a total of 2,085 units to date.
The average sale price of all residential sales through the KWAR’s MLS® System increased 6.2 percent last month to $334,777 compared with April 2012. Single detached homes sold for an average price of $378,936 an increase of 6.1percent compared to last year. The average sale price for a condominium was $216,209, a decrease of 0.7 percent compared to April 2012.
The KWAR cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing long term trends, but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold. Those requiring specific information on property values should contact a local REALTOR®.