February 2015 Market Report
The Spring Market has arrived early in Niagara this year. Local homebuyers did not let the cold weather slow down their house shopping plans. Home sales in January and February were up 7% across the Niagara Region.
The Niagara Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reported 772 residential sales processed through the NAR Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) system during January and February 2015 compared to 721 during the same time frame last year.
The average days on the market for the homes that sold during the month of February shifted to 65 days a faster pace than the average of 69 days a year ago. Niagara’s 12-month average price continues its steady climb. Currently at $ 255,551 the 12-month average price in Niagara represents a gain of 5.6% over the figure of $ $242,086 recorded in February 2014.
Locally, our Pelham and Welland markets outperformed regional results. Residential sales in Pelham were up 7.7% with 28 transactions year-to-date compared to 26 last year. The big story is the resurgence underway in Welland.
So far this year there have been 101 home sales in the Rose City – representing a 17.4% spike from the 86 sales reported during the same period in 2014 and a whopping 26% increase over the 80 sales in 2013.
The February 12-month average price in Pelham has jumped 9.6% since last year, now standing at $383,461 compared to $349,931 in 2014. Welland’s 12-month average price is poised to soon break $200,000 for the first time reaching $199,529 in February, up 6.2% from $187,962 in February 2014.
Across Niagara sales results are outpacing market supply and listing inventory levels are dropping to record lows. Expect this trend to keep fuelling accelerated price growth throughout Niagara in the months to come.
