Home sales decline throughout Quinte area

Home sales in Prince Edward County dropped 56.2 per cent last month, compared to July 2021 – but average prices remain higher.

There were 32 sales in the County this July at an average price of $874,719, compared to 73 sales in July 2021 at an average price of $777,818.

There were 249 homes sold through the MLS system of the Quinte & District Association of Realtors (QDAR) in July 2022 – a decrease of 37.4 per cent from July 2021. Home sales were 34 per cent below the five-year average and 30 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of July.

Valerie Miles, QDAR president said The Bank of Canada’s aggressive attempt to tame inflation is having its desired effect.

“Demand for goods has declined and qualifying for a mortgage is getting more difficult each month,” said Miles.
“With further increases to the cost of borrowing expected in the near future, some buyers have sidelined themselves while they wait to see how this shift in market conditions plays out. Although our local market is still technically in balanced territory, momentum suggests we are headed into a buyers’ market in near term. It is reasonable to expect that as market conditions stabilize buyers will eventually return. Only time will tell if and when trigger-shy and previously discouraged buyers will return en masse. We are keeping a close eye on conditions in our region for any indication of what to expect over the coming months.”

The benchmark price for single-family homes throughout the district was $579,000, a moderate gain of 6.6 per cent on a
year-over-year basis in July. Throughout the region, the average price of homes sold in July 2022 was $630,101, essentially unchanged, down just 0.6 per cent from July 2021. The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $715,005, a gain of 17.2 per cent from the first seven months of 2021.

The number of new listings saw a gain of 29.6 per cent from July 2021. There were 596 new residential listings in July 2022 – the largest number of new listings added in the month of July in more than five years.

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 as well as other adjacent communities.