Houses in these Oakville and Burlington neighbourhoods are getting ‘low-ball’ offers

While housing in Oakville and Burlington (and the Halton Region overall) is expensive (according to data recently released by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the average home price in the region sits at $1,208,950), some neighbourhoods are seeing buyers bidding $100,000 or more under the median price. 

According to real estate company Wahi, three Oakville neighbourhoods–Eastlake, Iroquois Ridge South and Southwest Oakville–are ranked in the top five neighbourhoods for underbidding.

The list also includes rural Burlington and Kleinburg, Vaughan. 

According to the report, underbidding–which occurs when prospective buyers offer less than the listing price–activity is on the rise across the GTA. In fact, Wahi says it’s reached its highest level of the year, with 93 per cent of the region’s neighbourhoods in underbidding territory in November–up from 81 per cent in October. 

Wahi says it ranks the top five underbidding and overbidding neighbourhoods each month based on the dollar amount difference between the median list and sale prices of sold properties. 

“This difference is referred to either as the overbid or underbid amount, depending on whether the median of all selling prices is higher or lower than the median of list prices (for sold properties only),” the report said. 

In November, four of the five top underbidding neighbourhoods were located in Halton.

The report says that in Oakville’s Eastlake neighbourhood–a community known for shopping, restaurants and greenspace where the median sold price sits at $2,325,000–the underbid amount sits at $199,888. In Southwest Oakville, an older and in-demand neighbourhood, the median sold price is $2,350,000 and the underbid amount is $149,000. 

In Iroquois Ridge South–a more affordable neighbourhood–the median sold price is $1,448,900 and the underbid amount is $109,000. 

In rural Burlington, the median sold price is $2,850,000 and the underbid amount is $148,000. 

Wahi says that in November, 256 of the GTA’s approximately 400 neighbourhoods were evaluated, with 239 in the underbidding territory, one selling at-asking, and just 16 in the overbidding territory. 

“The effects of higher interest rates are being felt in real estate markets across Southern Ontario,” Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen said in the report. 

“That said, with interest rates stabilizing, now could be a great time to potentially purchase a home due to having a greater selection of properties for sale and potentially being able to cut a sharper deal than even just a few months ago.” 

The report says more neighbourhoods fell into the underbidding category this year compared to last year, when 88 per cent were seeing sales below asking. That said, the report says a number of factors can impact sales, including time of year and whether a buyer has listed a home at a low price in an effort to spark a bidding war. 

While four Halton neighbourhoods are seeing underbidding, the report notes that the top underbidding neighbourhoods generally boast more expensive housing. 

“At these prices, there is a smaller pool of buyers who qualify for financing,” Katchen said in the report. 

Not surprisingly, neighbourhoods where overbidding remains common tend to be more affordable. North Oakville, one of the town’s newer communities, made the list of the top five neighbourhoods for overbidding, where the median sold price is $1,462,500 and the overbid amount is $47,551.