Amid the sleepiest real estate market Ontario has seen in years, supply and demand conditions have largely balanced out -- with some exceptions.
This is according to a new report from Canadian real estate company Zoocasa, which ranked 34 cities and regions across Ontario to identify the most and least competitive markets as of October 2022.
Zoocasa’s ranking is based on each city or region’s sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) -- calculated by dividing the total sales by the number of new listings. This metric is indicative of the level of demand and supply in each market, which can be used to ascertain how competitive each market is for prospective buyers.
For instance, markets with an SNLR over 60% indicate that demand is outpacing supply, pointing to a sellers' market. The higher the SNLR, the more competitive the market. On the flip side, markets with an SNLR under 40% indicate that new listings are outweighing demand, suggesting a buyers' market. A lower SNLR translates to a less competitive market. And then there’s the middle ground -- markets with an SNLR between 40% and 60% suggest a relative balance between supply and demand.
"The balanced markets are widespread across Ontario, reflecting the stalemate seen between buyers and sellers with interest rate hikes taking priority over financial decisions," the report explains. "Our findings show that of the 34 markets, just six are currently not in balanced territory, with only one favouring buyers, and the remaining five markets favouring sellers."
Ontario's only buyer's market in October was Niagara Falls, where the SNLR clocked in at 29%. Meanwhile, competitive seller’s market conditions were observed in Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, and Guelph, where the SNLRs were 80%, 78%, 77%, 73%, and 63% respectively.
The latest SNLRs paint a very different picture compared to a year ago. In October 2021, markets across Ontario had SNLRs well above 60%, with the only exception being the Barrie region, where the SNLR sat at a more moderate 48%.
