{"id":18916,"date":"2022-03-16T14:46:02","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T18:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/?p=18916"},"modified":"2022-03-16T15:03:55","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T19:03:55","slug":"crea-february-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/crea-february-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"2022 Competitive Market Continues as Buyers Scoop Up Influx of New Listings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Despite a sharp uptake in new listings, buyers will continue facing strong competition if they\u2019re looking to buy in today\u2019s market, according to the latest numbers from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their February 2022 release, CREA reports that new listings increased by 23.7% month-over-month.  While the increase in available properties is welcome to worn out buyers, the sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) remains high at 75.3%. This is the ratio that compares the number of sales in a given time to the number of new listings becoming available. A market that favours sellers is usually above 60%. February saw an improvement over the historically low SNLR of 89.4% in January 2022. For reference, the long term average of this metric is 55.1%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


Property sales rose by 4.6% over last month<\/a>. While encouraging, this means properties are still available to snap up. The increase in activity is likely a result of the rebound in new listings following the 10.8% decline in January. Additionally, this strong activity may continue as listings that came on to the market in late February continue to sell into March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related Read: Why this might be the best time in 2022 to sell your home<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this renewed activity, the SNLR does mean that market conditions still greatly favour sellers. The historically low levels of stock have carried over from last month despite the bounce in new listings, still sitting at 1.6 months of inventory, tied with January 2022 and December of last year for the lowest levels ever recorded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The continued competitive market means the National Home Price Index Benchmark Price broke a further record this month, up 3.5% month over month and 29.2% year over year in February, bringing the average price of a home to $868,400.  The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price posted a 20.6% year-over-year gain in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Future is Still Competitive, but There is Room for Optimism<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The bounce in new supply follows a similar trend to the previous two years. The seller\u2019s market is expected to hang around for the near future, but there is optimism that new listing numbers will continue to rapidly improve. CREA\u2019s senior economist, Shaun Cathcart, says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the short term, expect at least one more month of stronger sales as the majority of those new listings came onto the market near the end of the month so many of the associated sales likely won\u2019t happen until early March. Ideally, listings will continue to come out in big numbers in the months ahead. Combined with higher interest rates and higher prices, we could be at a turning point where price growth begins to slow down and inventories finally begin to recover after seven years of declines. Still, in order to turn this market back towards balance long-term, building more new homes across the spectrum remains the key.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Price Growth Continues Across Ontario<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Price gains have continued across Ontario, according to CREA\u2019s data, with Bancroft, Brantford, Cambridge, North Bay and London & St Thomas seeing year-over-year growth of over 40%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how five of Ontario\u2019s major areas faired in February:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GTA<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After their lowest levels in two decades, listings in Toronto have seen an improvement<\/a>, with 14,147 new listings for February. Contrasting this with 9,097 sales, the SNLR now sits at 64% for the area – the best we\u2019ve seen for buyers in months. Listings have dipped by 6.5% year over year, considerably less than sales, which has dipped by just over 17%. The benchmark price, however, has seen a 35.7% increase year over year, up to $1,333,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n