New Listings Provide Plenty of Choice for Prospective Homebuyers

• By Mike Heddle
• Posted Thursday, Nov 02, 2023 12:21 pm

New Listings Provide Plenty of Choice for Prospective Homebuyers

Rising supply compared to sales is placing downward pressure on home prices

Hamilton, ON (November 1, 2023) – For the second month in a row, the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported gains in new listings. Supply levels reached highs for the month of October not seen in nearly a decade. Increased supply is welcome news for buyers who now have more choice and flexibility in their homebuying decisions.

A total of 1,937 new listings in October were met with 654 sales, keeping the sales to new listings ratio exceptionally low at 34 per cent. The recent rise in new listings has placed upward pressure on inventory levels, which rose to 3,015 units.

“Higher lending rates are likely weighing on homeowners, with an increasing number of them choosing to list their home. While new listings have risen across all property types and price ranges, we are seeing larger inventory gains in the higher price points of the market,” says Nicolas von Bredow, President of RAHB.

Inventory levels are the highest reported since 2011, with nearly five months of supply available. The increase in supply is contributing to minor price decreases. As of October, the unadjusted Benchmark price was $829,100 nearly three per cent lower than last month and just slightly lower than levels reported last year at this time. Prices trended down across all property types. The smallest monthly price decline occurred in the apartment condominium sector. Home prices continue to be higher than pre-pandemic pricing.