Home sales and prices jumped in March
Trent Hills bucked wider housing market slowdown last month
The number of homes sold in Trent Hills increased in March from the previous month and the median price jumped way up.
Last month, 16 homes sold with a median price of $657,500, says a report from the Central Lakes Association of Realtors. That action was up from 14 sales in February and the price was up 35 per cent, or $172,500. So far this year, 42 homes have sold, all but one detached, for a median price of $524,750.
In comparison, in March 2024, 23 homes sold, again all but one detached, for a median price of $605,000. In the first three months of 2024, 53 homes sold for a median price of $560,000.
Last month, there were 49 new listings and 43 homes were listed for sale at the end of March. Those that sold went for 98 per cent of their asking price and had been on the market an average of 64 days, down from 84 days for those that sold in February.
The market was relatively strong across Northumberland county with 102 sales and a median price of $743,000. That compared with 132 sales in March 2024 and a median price of $662,500.
Sales in the Toronto area were down 24 per cent in March compared to a year ago.
Housing market conditions in Toronto were dismal and the economic chaos created by the U.S. means this could continue for some time, says Bryan Yu, chief economist with Central 1 Credit Union.
“A deep decline in sales and home values points to a recessionary regional housing market,” Yu wrote in a report. “While tariff-related recession/job loss fears, and volatile equity markets have certainly been a factor sidelining buyers in recent months, impacts of realized tariffs and risks of a broader global economic downturn could prolong this weakness.”
The downturn won’t do anything to reduce the need for more housing in order to alleviate the affordability crisis, Yu said. But “a deeper housing recession and price correction would not be a surprise if this trade war persists.”
Economic turmoil
A study by the Institute for Public Policy Research, suggests that our area won’t be as affected by tariffs as other communities with more manufacturing. But since it appears that Trump’s tariff war may create a lengthy recession we are unlikely to be able to escape the economic impact.
We may get a tourism boost from Canadians who are staying north of the border, but it seems unlikely that many American boaters will be heading through the Trent Canal system this summer after watching their stocks crater.
In a Toronto Star column last week, economist Jim Stanford said that tariffs alone wouldn’t ruin our economy. “While disruptions in U.S.-bound exports will cause major pain and a recession, it won’t spell the end of Canada’s economy. And we will certainly survive as a country. Indeed, in important ways, we are actually less reliant on foreign trade than commonly assumed.
“Almost 80 per cent of what we produce never crosses a border. It’s produced in Canada, by Canadians, for Canadians.”
Stanford noted that the role of manufacturing declined in Canada in the early 2000s and never bounced back. He suggested we should focus on growing the part of the economy that is under our control.
“Expanding that huge non-traded portion of our economy will be essential to successfully rebuffing Trump,” he wrote. “Boosting Canadian investments in infrastructure, housing, public services, and domestic trade will help.”
The next several years will be a challenge that will set the tone for our society over the following 50 years, I imagine. We are doomed to live in interesting times. And I haven’t even mention the challenge of climate change.
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