Home prices rose last month, sales were stable

Median price $622,500, up from $605,000 in Marchl

Home prices in Trent Hills moved higher in April with 24 sales at a median price of $622,500, according to data from the Central Lakes Association of Realtors.

The sales included one townhouse, the rest were detached homes. The total number was up one from March, but the median price jumped 2.8 per cent from $605,000. March also included the sale of one townhouse for $605,000.

In April there were 48 new listings and 92 active ones as the spring real estate market moved into full swing.

Northumberland County recorded 142 sales at an average price of $714,424 in April 2024, up slightly from 132 sales in April 2023. Additionally, the number of active listings increased by 59% from 322 to 511 over the same time frame.

The proposed change to capital gains taxes doesn’t appear to be driving cottage sales. There are only a half dozen listed in the area now on realtor.ca.

Twenty homes sold in February with an average price of $589,647 and a median of $511,286. In January, eight detached houses sold for an average of $487,409 and a median of $444,688. In December, the same number of homes sold for an average of $654,980 and a median of $627,450. In November, seven detached homes and one townhouse sold for an average of $696,975 and a median of $657,450.

For the province as whole, home sales were down in April. “Housing market activity in Ontario softened further in April as home purchases fell again,” said Eloho Ennah, Economic Analyst with Central 1 Credit Union.

But a housing report by Ennah predicts “a brighter 2024 for the market and steadier growth in home sales into 2025 and 2026.” She expects interest rate cuts in the early summer will spur sales that will grow again in 2025 as rates are trimmed even more.

“We forecast a rise of 10.2 per cent in home sales in 2024, an acceleration in 2025 with an annual increase of 10.7 per cent and a 6.4 per cent growth in 2026 home sales,” she wrote.

Ennah said Central 1 expects “both housing starts and building permits to keep falling in 2024 as high borrowing costs restrict upward momentum in the province’s construction sector. It will also take some time to see the impact of some of the new initiatives to grow housing supply.”