The condominium market in Barrie has been quite active since the beginning of the year.
Open houses have been busy and private showings for properties have increased.
This new "buzz" in the real estate market was influenced by the announcement last month that interest rates were due to decrease later in 2024.
Buyers have seen an opportunity to get their ducks in a row so they are ready to purchase when they feel the time is right.
Now is the perfect time for buyers to do some market research before the market potentially picks up.
Condo inventory in Barrie is unusually high for this time of year, so there are lots of properties to browse through to get a better understanding of what options Barrie has to offer.
There is quite a variety of condominiums to choose from and each complex has its own unique community feel that offers different activities and socials to residents.
In January, there were 16 condo apartments that sold in Barrie. The average sale price was $511,344, up slightly from December, and units were selling for 96 per cent of the original list price. However, the average days on market for these properties to sell was 68.
Although this was high, it can be common to have high days on market in January. Many properties that sell during the first month of the year tend to be old inventory that was listed leading up to and during the holidays.
The final six weeks of the year are typically some of the slowest weeks for real estate, causing properties to sit on the market for a longer period of time.
Last month, there were only six condo townhouses that sold in Barrie. The average sale price was $494,833, which was a 5.7 per cent increase from December 2023.
These units were selling for 99 per cent of their original list price and took an average of 40 days to sell. This sector of the market has been quite steady month over month through the fall and into the first quarter of 2024.
Barrie currently has more than five months of condo inventory on the market, with about 120 condominiums listed for sale. This is the highest number of condos for sale that has been recorded in a given February and puts Barrie in a balanced market.
The high inventory is primarily due to the surplus of fall inventory that did not sell in 2023 and has rolled over into the new year.
If demand increases later this year, when interest rates are predicted to come down, there is a chance the Barrie condo market could move away from a balanced market and into a seller’s market.
That said, it depends on how much of the current inventory sells prior to the next wave of inventory that will likely hit the market in the spring. If demand increases enough to more than satisfy the supply, we could potentially shift into a seller’s market.
If there is too much inventory and not enough demand, we could remain in a balanced market.
There are still many unknowns in the current real estate market, and only time will tell how things will unfold in 2024.
