Fewer sales, more houses means slow real estate market in Burlington

The best deal for homebuyers in Burlington last month were apartment condos according to the August real estate report.

Put together by Cornerstone, the organization that gathers real estate information in Hamilton and Burlington, the report shows fewer sales in August.

“There is more inventory than we have seen in recent years, which provides prospective buyers with flexibility and choice,” said Nicolas von Bredow, Cornerstone spokesperson for the Hamilton-Burlington market area.

“We are seeing many hopeful buyers continue to wait for interest rates to come down as they are predicted to do. Now is a good time for buyers to take advantage of the increased opportunities. When interest rates come down, there could once again be a strain on inventory.”

In August, the average detached home sold for $1.35M, the same as last August, while the average semi-detached price was $995,900, up one per cent.

Townhouses, however, were down about two per cent, to $800,400 and apartments dropped eight per cent from last August, to $580,500.

A surge in inventory relative to sales has caused the months of supply to rise to four-and-a-half months, reflecting the highest level seen for August since 2010. Higher inventory levels compared to sales have placed downward pressure on home prices.

In August, the unadjusted benchmark price for the entire region stood at $840,300, down over last month and over two per cent below last year’s levels. The steepest price decline is occurring in the oversupplied apartment condominium sector.