Average detached home prices cross $1-million mark in Kitchener-Waterloo in December: realtors | Globalnews.ca

On average, it now costs more than a million dollars to buy a detached home in Waterloo Region, according to the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors.

They say the average price of a detached house in the area in December 2021 was $1,021,353, which set a new standard for the market.

That total was 34.7 per cent higher than a year earlier, when that number came out to $755,618.

On average, all residential properties sold for $770,596 last month, which is a 25.8 per cent increase from where things stood at the close of 2020, when the average came in at $634,545.

2:49
Year in review: The top business stories of 2021

Overall, only 344 homes changed hands last month, a total that includes semis, condos and duplexes.

The traditionally quiet December market capped off a record-breaking year for the realtors as 7,581 homes changed hands in 2021, crushing a record set in 2020.

“Home sales in 2021 have absolutely smashed last year’s record by more than 1,000 units,” KWAR president Megan Bell stated.

“While this is a good time to sell your home, it remains a tremendously difficult market for buyers. Affordability for all types of housing within our community continues to be a concern which we expect to continue throughout 2022.”

At the end of the year, there were only 104 homes available for sale in the area, which was 85.7 per cent below the previous 10-year average of 727 listings for December.

“Supply not keeping up with demand was a steady refrain in 2021, and unfortunately I expect that will continue to be the case in the year ahead,” Bell stated.