Homes in Niagara Falls and St. Catharines sitting on the market for longer than in other Ontario cities

If you plan on selling your Niagara Falls or St. Catharines home this summer, your dwelling might spend a few more days on the market than, say, a home in nearby Hamilton. 

Real estate website and brokerage Zoocasa recently released a report comparing sales activity across major Ontario cities. They found that homes in Niagara Falls spent an average of 31 days on the market in June 2023. 

In St. Catharines, homes took an average of 22 days to sell.

In June, 287 homes hit the market in Niagara Falls and 97 of them changed hands. In St. Catharines, 175 homes of the 335 that hit the market sold. 

The average house price sat at $664,700 in Niagara Falls in June, while the average hit $603,900 in St. Catharines. 

According to Zoocasa, Niagara Falls and Caledon are the only municipalities where properties are spending more than 25 days on the market. 

While both Niagara cities seem to be favouring buyers rather than sellers, Zoocasa says the Ontario market has picked up some steam since the start of the year, namely because prospective buyers had several months to acclimate to borrowing costs before the most recent Bank of Canada interest rate hike. 

“…as interest rates were put on a short-lived pause by the Bank of Canada, some confidence was restored in buyers looking for their next home, meaning the pace at which homes are being sold has picked up,” the report reads, adding that Zoocasa analyzed 23 different cities across Ontario to find out where homes were moving the quickest.

The report says that in January 2023, the shortest amount of time properties sat on the market was 25 days (Waterloo region). In June, homes were selling more quickly in cities such as Ajax and London, where home sales tend to occur within 11 days–a decrease of 56 per cent from the beginning of the year. 

The report says homes also sell quickly in Orangeville and Milton (14 days). 

Homes are sitting a little longer in Vaughan (23 days) and Oakville (21 days). In Toronto, homes took about 20 days to sell in June. 

The report says the persistent supply issue (inventory is and remains quite low) has also served to drive up both demand and prices across all the markets analyzed. 

“Equally, there is still a large supply issue, meaning that what little supply is available has great competition, so buyers are having to move a little quicker to snap up their ideal home,” the report reads.