“I can’t believe this sold in 2 days – the market is crazy these days!”
– a client who wanted to invest in a condo this weekend (2nd unit in this complex that sold inside 3 days too)
Homes and condo’s are moving very quickly in KW these days – our clients are involved in a multiple offer situations fairly regularly on smaller properties (condos, 5 bedroom student rental houses etc), and we’re even seeing multiple offers on apartment buildings that are in good shape, well rented and fairly priced.
So far in 2010, 56 homes have sold in 3 days on market or less, 144 residential properties have sold in less than 7 days, and 357 have sold in inside of two weeks (note: these Days on Market times include days where the property was tied up with a conditional offer, and due diligence periods).
That means over 32% of homes sold in 2010 were listed on the MLS for less than 14 days (note: a small % of these homes may have been relisted)
The Record has some more insight:
It appears that homebuyers are trying to get a jump on the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), which goes into effect July 1 and will boost the cost of buying a home. But the biggest factor sparking the surge in sales is historically low interest rates, said Ted Scharf, president of the Kitchener-Waterloo board.
“Consumers are taking advantage of current interest rates now before they are predicted to rise this summer,” Scharf said in a news release.
The Bank of Canada plans to keep the key bank rate at 0.25 per cent through June. However, in the wake of a report Monday that the Canadian economy is growing more rapidly than forecasted, economists say borrowing rates may increase sooner and rise more aggressively than had been expected.
With the strong sales, there was another double-digit increase in prices last month. The average sale price in Kitchener and Waterloo rose 12.2 per cent to $276,891; in Cambridge, it rose 14.3 per cent to $280,996.
Strong demand for homes in higher prices ranges contributed to the increases. For example, in Kitchener and Waterloo there were 75 sales in the $300,000 to $350,000 price range, an increase of 150 per cent from a year earlier.
Leave me a comment below with any questions, and please contact me for more information at 519-772-4376 or via email at Benjamin@BenjaminBach.com
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