Houses become more affordable
Slumping sales and prices may help the young, but hurt the old
There is good news and bad news in the local housing market, depending on your age and financial situation. It turns out your view on the benefits of housing becoming more affordable may depend on your perspective.
First, the good news for first-time buyers: House prices are dropping, more homes are listed, and they are staying on the market longer, so you are unlikely to face bidding wars.
But the bad news for older homeowners like me: Prices are dropping, if you list your home you’ll face more competition, and it will take longer to sell.
That was the situation in February, which in these times of Trump-induced economic chaos and destruction is a long time ago. With a recession almost guaranteed and a depression possible, since that’s what happened the last time a world-wide tariff war broke out, the housing market is likely to continue to fall.
Here’s what happened last month in Trent Hills: 14 homes sold with a median price of $485,000, according to the Central Lakes Association of Realtors. There were 25 new listings and 76 active ones at the end of the month, up 140 per cent from 31 a year ago. The average house sold in 84 days, up 68 per cent from 50 days last year.
The number of homes sold was down 30 per cent from 20 last year and the median price was down 5 per cent from $511,268.
That was a slight change from January when prices and sales were both up year-over-year, however, even then median prices were down from all of 2024 as the market slumped in the fall.
If it’s any consolation, the Toronto Star reports that “sales in the GTA dropped by more than 27 per cent year over year and new listings increased by 5.4 per cent. The slow sales and increasing supply resulted in active listings surging by 76 per cent in February compared to the same time last year, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s (TRREB) February report.”
The surge in listings is a national trend. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported the largest seasonally adjusted monthly increase in supply in the country since the late 1980s.
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