The time it takes to sell a home has fluctuated drastically in the last few years. Between the pandemic, rising real estate prices and diminishing supply, and the interest rate hikes, the time to sell has varied, ranging from barely more than one week to well over one month.
Zoocasa analyzed market data in the York Region to see how long it takes to sell a property now compared to how long it took in the years prior.
To do this, we looked at the Property Days on Market (PDOM) metric provided by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). This metric is helpful for buyers and sellers during the research phase of their home purchase or sale, as it can provide context about the market activity in their area of interest.
Average Time to Sell Has Fluctuated Drastically Each Year
The number of days on market have varied significantly since 2019. 2019 follows typical trends – a slower winter market, coupled with a more active spring market. Things changed quite drastically from there.
2020 was of course the first year of the pandemic, and the housing market was quite slow during the second half of the year before the market picked up in early 2021 as restrictions eased. Historically low interest rates meant that buyers had less to worry about when it came to the cost of borrowing, and demand continued to grow. Even the typically slow winter months saw heightened demand, with properties only lasting an average of 19 days all throughout the York Region in December, well below the average in that month for every other year we compared.
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The heated market conditions continued in the first four months of 2022, with properties taking just 12 days to sell on average across February, March, and April. As interest rates increased, the average time to sell increased as well, with properties averaging 37 days on the market before. So far, 2023 is trending closer to 2019, with an average of 31 property days on market in February for both years. Since the Bank of Canada choose to hold rates, sidelines buyers will likely be more tempted to get back into the market, and with greater competition, the average time on the market is likely to decrease.
7 of 9 Cities Selling Faster Now Than Four Years Ago
Greater affordability does not always equal fewer days spent on the market. In seven of the nine cities, properties are spending less time on the market on average this year than they were in 2019, despite the average price being 42.3% higher. The only two markets that are not selling at a quicker rate now are Vaughan and King. King is one the most expensive places to buy in all of Canada with a current average price of $2,145,925, which would likely explain the drastic increase in average time to sell, with the price increasing by 53.8% since 2019.
Stouffville has experienced the largest decrease in days on market, with a 21 day decline between now and 2019. Homes are selling in an average of 24 days on the market compared to 45 in 2019.
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