House prices up in Burlington, but down in Milton and Oakville as sales fall

October was a quiet month for the Halton Region real estate market, with only one municipality (Burlington) seeing an increase in prices on a month-to-month basis.

According to a report released by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), affordability and uncertainty remained issues for many prospective home buyers in the GTA last month, prompting a slowdown in sales. 

That said, prices across the region are currently higher than in October 2022. 

Real estate website and brokerage Zoocasa says that the Halton market cooling down has allowed more inventory to come online, meaning prospective buyers now have more options. As of October, the region accumulated 2.2 months’ worth of active listings–an increase of almost five per cent from September. 

There are currently 1,933 homes for sale in the region and properties are sitting for an average of 36 days–24 per cent longer than they were in September. 

“Although market conditions are favouring buyers, it seems buyers in Halton Region are taking their time or putting their real estate plans on hold this fall,” Zoocasa says. 

In Burlington, 137 homes traded hands last month–a decrease of 7.43 per cent from September. That said, homes in the city remain quite expensive, with the average price climbing 8.72 per cent month-over-month to hit $1,140,816 in October. 

Burlington houses are spending an average of 35 days on the market. 

In Milton, 106 homes sold in October, up 6 per cent from September, while the average price declined 1.67 per cent to $1,036,226. The number of new listings also fell to 298, down 16.53 per cent month-over-month. Homes in the town are spending about 37 days on the market. 

Declines were most prominent in Oakville, according to Zoocasa. 

One-hundred-and-forty homes changed hands, down 23 per cent from September. The average price declined 10 per cent to $1,395,752. TRREB data indicates 483 properties were listed in October, down 23 percent from September and the average time on the market was 37 days. 

As far as housing types go, the average price of a detached house in Burlington hit $1,455,498 last month. In Milton, detached houses sold for an average of $1,334,432. In Okaville, detached houses sold for an average of $1,784,427. 

In Burlington, semis sold for an average of $963,500. In Milton, semis sold for about $1,009,042. In Oakville, they sold for about $1,078,296. 

Townhouses in Burlington hit an average price of $1,065,250, while they sat at $902,334 in Milton and $1,252,830 in Oakville. Condos in Burlington sold for an average price of $625,759, while condos in Milton sold for $652,044 and condos in Oakville sold for $811,372. 

Despite slower sales, TRREB says demand for housing is robust and that the rental market is quite hot as a result.

“Record population growth and a relatively resilient GTA economy have kept the overall demand for housing strong,” said TRREB president Paul Baron in a news release.

“However, more of that demand has been pointed at the rental market, as high borrowing costs and uncertainty on the direction of interest rates has seen many would-be home buyers remain on the sidelines in the short term. When mortgage rates start trending lower, home sales will pick up quickly.” 

Realtors reported 4,646 home sales throughout the GTA in October, down 5.8 per cent compared to October 2022. TRREB says the average selling price was up 3.5 per cent year-over-year. 

“Competition between buyers remained strong enough to keep the average selling price above last year’s level in October and above the cyclical lows experienced in the first quarter of this year,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer in a statement. 

“The Bank of Canada also noted this resilience in its October statement. However, home prices remain well below their record peak reached at the beginning of 2022, so lower home prices have mitigated the impact of higher borrowing costs to a certain degree.”