Housing sales dipped last month in Windsor-Essex.
The Windsor Essex County Association of Realtors' July report said sales were down by 13.6 per cent from July 2020. A total of 631 homes changed hands compared to 731 in the same month a year ago.
However, so far in 2021, sales are still ahead of last year's. Since January, they are up almost 32 per cent, and there are still plenty of homes up for sale. Market activity rose 14.43 per cent from July 2020. There were 1,047 properties put up for sale last month.
The Canadian Real Estate Association's latest national figures are for June. They show an 8.4 per cent drop in sales from June 2020. In its report, senior economist Shaun Cathcart suggested the market across Canada is cooling some from its record highs in March.
"It feels like maybe the theme of this summer is 'slowly getting back to normal,' in our own lives and for many housing markets across Canada as well," he is quoted.
"That said, it's a long road to get back to normal, and for many housing markets, the main issue is that supply shortages are as acute as ever," continued Cathcart. "So while the frenzy and emotion of earlier in the pandemic seem to have dissipated for now, the key ingredients of a seller's market are all still in place."
Most sales in July were in the $420,000 to $549,999 range. Real estate agents sold 174 homes in that price range, while 135 in the $550,000 to $699,999 category changed hands.
There was also a slight dip in the average price from June to July. Compared to June, that dipped 2.3 per cent to $542,334.
Month-to-month comparisons still show a healthy 27 per cent increase over last July when the average price was $426,748.
So far this year, prices have topped last year's figures, January to July, by 38.7 per cent.