2017 Market Recap for Niagara Real Estate

Welcome to our bTEAM 2017 Real Estate Market Report for Niagara.

If there is one concept we would like to stress with this report is the importance of apples-to-apples comparison. There was an 18 month stretch from 2016 to 2017 that was truly unprecedented. As a result, to just look at 1 month in 2017 compared to 2016 doesn’t tell the whole story. That is why you’ll see in the reports below that we have looked back from 2017 to 2016 and further to 2015.

This city-by-city report is looking at 6 particular segments of each city’s market whether that is waterfront or new construction or condo apartments. We hope you find this helpful for you in terms of getting a better understanding of our local market.

To watch the recap on YouTube, click here.

Let’s get started.

St. Catharines

In general, we have seen the same trends across all corners of Niagara. Average prices continue to climb while total sales have started to level off to normal. Meanwhile average days on the market are still settling into their new normal.

St. Catharines had a large influx of out of town buyers looking to cash out of GTA and settle into the lifestyle and affordability that our area provides. As a result we saw the average prices jump up with more homes selling for over $500,000 than ever before. With that we saw in increase in condo apartments, semi-detached and every other corner of the city.

Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara on the Lake has had an incredible few years. As an example, the total number of sales for $1,000,000 and up went from 13 in 2015 to 70 in 2017 while the days on the market shrunk from 6 months to 2 months.

New construction was also a big driver across NOTL with continued expansion in St.Davids while lot prices furthered their push.

Rural NOTL was equally strong as the number of sales and price were both up significantly while days on the market were cut in half from 133 to 62.

Vineland & Jordan

While not to the alarming degree of some of the other cities, Vineland & Jordan saw similar trends with total sales and average pricing up. Meanwhile, the time to sell (days on the market) eased back. Across the board, residential saw average prices pop up to over half a million while the total number of homes in the top end of the market (over 1 million) went from 5 to 11 from 2015 to 2017.

In the rural market, total sales and days on the market were largely unchanged while the average sale price jumped up 44% to $791,000.

Thorold

A big driver of pricing and sales in Thorold in the last few years has been new construction. In particular, in the Confederation Heights area as well as on the other side of the canal in Rolling Meadows.

You’ll see new build sales went from 15 in 2015 to 51 in 2017 with the average price creeping up on $570,000.

As a result you will see that the average sale price went from $240,000 to $370,000 from 2015 to 2017. Taking new builds out of the equation and the average price still increased but more in line with other areas of the region.

Niagara Falls

Similar to Thorold, new construction has been a big driver the last few years. In particular down the west corridor to the south-west corner of the city as well as along the south side.

We intentionally pulled new construction out of the equation and similar to Thorold, the increase was still substantial but more in line with regional norms.

The north-end (north of 420 to Mountain) did very well also with total sales up about 10% while the average sale price was up a whopping 63% to $372,000 over the last few years. Also, note that average days on the market were cut in half to 24.

Fonthill & Pelham

Did we mention new construction yet!? Fonthill is seeing massive expansion as major residential (and commercial) work is happening across the east-end in particular.

The upper pricing bracket of the Fonthill market has expanded significantly too as more out of town buyers are recognizing the value and lifestyle they can experience as retail and recreational options increase in addition to the great golf courses and wineries that already exist.

Looking at the $750,000 and up market, the total number of sales were up from 6 in 2015 to 34 in 2017 while the days on market eased to 51.

Welland

Similar to other cities, Welland has seen a significant jump in values while days on the market have been cut in half. The heart of the market (detached $200 – 600,000) performed well with sales up an impressive 55% while prices crept up nearly 15% to $326,000.

The higher end of the market ($500,000 & up) saw big gains in total sales (up from 10 in 2015 to 59 in 2017) while days on the market were cut in half from 80 to 40.

Newer builds (5 years and newer) did well also with total sales down a bit while the average price was up 42% to nearly $450,000.

Port Colborne & Wainfleet

Continuing the trend of increasing average price and decreasing days on the market, all residential in Port Colborne & Wainfleet saw an increase of over 50% in 2 years to an average sale price of $340,000 in 2017.

One significant change was the $500,000 & up segment which saw total sales up from 12 in 2015 to 64 in 2017, a more than 5 fold increase. Meanwhile, days on the market were down from 3.5 months to 2 months.

Rural sales did well also with total sales nearly flat while the average price jumped by 43% to just under $450,000.

Fort Erie

All residential in Fort Erie was a perfect example of the Niagara wide trend the last few years. Average sales jumped up from 2015 to 2016 and receded back to normal in 2017. Meanwhile price bounced up about 25% each year while days on the market pulled back by nearly 50%.

The top end of the market ($500,000 +) saw gains as well from 24 sales in 2015 to 80 sales in 2017 while the average price was up nearly 14% to $772,000 for 2017.

We hope you have found this Market vLOG & bLOG helpful in terms of gaining some insight into our local market here in Niagara.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about a particular segment of the market that we haven’t covered, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are here and ready to help whenever needed!

Thank-you for visiting.

THEbTEAM

Patrick Burke – Broker – 905-380-6459

James Broderick – Sales Rep – 905-321-2083

McGarr Realty Corp., Brokerage

Subscribe to our b-LOG here! Stay up to date on the latest in Niagara Real Estate.