Numbers are in for May 16th - 22nd

Real estate is hyperlocal. Sudbury has seen average price points in the 300k range when the rest of Ontario has been closer to 500k. Our average take-home pay locally is on par or better than the rest of the province as well. And as a whole, the COVID-shutdown hasn’t been as bad to Sudbury as it could have been. Our 3 biggest employers are Healthcare, Education, and Mining; and all three industries have remained open and full steam ahead. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of my friends and colleagues that run small businesses are suffering, but as a whole, it could have been a lot worse, on a hyperlocal level. As we are wrapping up our first week of ‘phase one’ of reopening the economy; people are adjusting to life in the 'new normal'. We shop with social distancing, wait in lines to restrict the number of people in stores, and wear masks in public. The stats show a slight drop in the number of transactions last week with 31 sales, 13 pending deals; but supply increased by a big leap again this week with 57 new listings. 

I’m still not 100% sure how to interpret the slight pullback in the number of transactions week over week. The phones are still buzzing all hours of the day with texts from clients and prospects that are excited to be jumping into the market, but we went from transactions in the mid 50’s last week to mid 40’s this week. 

One reason for the drop may be due to the increase in supply. We jumped from 45 new listings last week to almost 60 new listings this week. With more supply available, buyers are feeling empowered to have more selection and not being forced to jump on what was available last week. The increase in supply is another reason behind the decrease in multiple offers this week. We went from 66% to 50% and now to 35% in the last few weeks while we’ve seen supply increase at the same time. There are still multiple offers and listings coming out with future-offer dates, where they are predicting multiple offers; but sellers aren’t afraid to put a premium on their homes in the last few weeks reacting to the increase in activity they have seen.

To summarize, the market is adjusting to the new normal; just as we all are in our day-to-day life. The spring market continues to be strong, all-be-it a slight pullback in the sales this week over last week. There are a lot more listings available and still generally speaking strong numbers. As stated earlier I think Sudbury is better than most places to face a bounce back. We have an affordable housing market and a stronger job market than most of the province. I hope you continue to stay-safe and are adjusting to life in the new normal.