Fewer homes sold in PEC but market more balanced: QDAR

Home sales numbers were down dramatically in Prince Edward County year over year for January but those sellers received more money for their homes than in 2022.

There were 15 homes sold last month compared to 65 in January last year. However, the average price was $725,606 compared to $684,960 in 2022. However, across the region, benchmark home prices are on the decline.

The Quinte & District Association of Realtors (QDAR) noted a 47 per cent decline in home sales across the region for January 2022 – just 142 units.

“Sales activity posted an outsized decline from the previous January, which had reached the highest levels of any January on record by a wide margin,” said Natasha Huizinga, QDAR president. “Our overall supply levels are back up to where they stood over most of 2019, bolstered mainly by supportive levels of new listings. With market conditions in balanced territory and benchmark home prices still on the decline, albeit at a less steep trajectory than before, the opportunity for buyers to step back into the market continues to grow. After the Bank of Canada’s latest rate hike some stability on the interest rate front will likely provide further incentive for uncertain buyers who are planning out the best time to buy.”

The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) tracks price trends more accurately than is possible using average or median price measures. The overall MLS HPI composite benchmark price was $530,800 in January 2023, down 16 per cent compared to January 2022.
The benchmark price for single-family homes was $533,000, a decrease of 16.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis in January. The average price of homes sold in January 2023 was $599,124, a decline
of 19.3 per cent from January 2022.

The number of new listings saw an increase of 5.8 per cent from January 2022. There were 331 new residential listings in January 2023.

QDAR is a not-for-profit association that serves approximately 590 realtors in the Belleville, Quinte West, Prince Edward, Madoc, Marmora, Stirling, Tweed, Brighton, Trent Hills, Colborne, and Deseronto areas and adjacent communities.