1) “Strong start to the year,’ says Barrie & District Association of Realtors

Courtesy Brrie360.com and News Release

By Barrie & District Association of Realtors, February 19, 2025

The Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® (BDAR) has released its latest market data for January 2025, showing a strong start to the year with notable gains in sales activity, pricing, and new listings. Year-over-year, the market continues to grow, while month-over-month trends indicate increased momentum as buyers and sellers return to the market.

In January 2025, Simcoe County recorded 480 home sales, a 27.66% increase from the 376 transactions in January 2024. Compared to December 2024, sales surged 24.68%, signalling renewed market activity.

The average sale price climbed to $841,757, reflecting a 6.62% increase from January 2024 and a 2.60% rise from December 2024, highlighting sustained demand across the region.

New listings in January totalled 1,419, marking a 29.71% year-over-year increase and an impressive 125.24% jump from December 2024, providing buyers with greater selection as inventory builds. Meanwhile, active listings reached 2,536, a 78.22% increase from last year, though down slightly (-2.54%) from the previous month.

The months of inventory dropped to 5.28, down from 6.76 in December, reflecting a more active market with increased absorption of available homes.

“January’s market performance sets a positive tone for the year ahead,”Says BDAR Chair, Robin Jones.

“With rising sales, strong price growth, and a significant increase in new listings, Simcoe County continues to attract buyers while offering greater opportunities for sellers. As we move through 2025, REALTORS® remain essential in helping clients navigate this evolving market with confidence.”

BDAR remains committed to providing REALTORS® with market intelligence and professional support to help them serve clients effectively in Simcoe County’s dynamic real estate landscape.

See the January 2025 Full Report

2) Home sales dented by tariff worries in January as listings surge: CREA

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Ian Bickis, Feb. 18, 2025

A real estate sign is shown in Vaughan, Ont. on Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in January were up 2.9 per cent compared with a year earlier, but noted that fell off at the end of the month. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paige Taylor White

Tariff uncertainty put downward pressure on home resales in January while total listings saw one of the biggest spikes in decades, said the Canadian Real Estate Association on Tuesday.

Sales were down 3.3 per cent from December when seasonally adjusted as deals trailed off in the last week of the month, though January sales were still up 2.9 per cent compared with a year earlier.

New listings were up 11 per cent from December in what the association said was the largest seasonally adjusted monthly increase on record going back to the 1980s, outside of some wild pandemic swings.

Compared with a year earlier, January new residential listings were up 23 per cent, including an almost 50 per cent jump in Greater Toronto. 

“The standout trends to begin the year were a big jump in new supply at an uncommon time of year, as well as a weakening in sales which only showed up around the last week of January,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist, in a statement.

“The timing of that change in demand leaves little doubt as to the cause – uncertainty around tariffs.”

U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 has ushered in threats and worries about Canada’s most important trading relationship, leading to wider concerns about potential economic impacts.

Along with concerns about the U.S., there’s also an election in Ontario and one pending federally to add to the unease, said Shawn Zigelstein, broker and head of Team Zold with Royal LePage Your Community Realty.

“You’ve got so much uncertainty out there that at the beginning of the month, everybody threw their place on the market,” he said.

The increase in listings has so far not led to much price change. The average price was up 1.1 per cent from a year earlier at $670,064 and down two per cent seasonally adjusted from December. The aggregate benchmark price of $720,500 was up 0.2 per cent from a year earlier and down 0.1 per cent from the previous month.

The lack of much price change is happening as there are relatively few forced sales, as indicated by a mortgage delinquency rate that remains below pre-pandemic levels.

While there are some who are facing a real crunch, the rise in listings seems to be coming more from sellers like those looking to offload a rental or investment, so there’s less pressure on prices, said Zigelstein.

It remains to be seen how long the trend will hold up though.

“Economically, do we believe that if there are more listings out there, buyers will have more opportunities to negotiate prices, and prices should come down a little bit more? That is the traditional economic thought process,” he said.

“We haven’t seen that huge difference yet take place, so it’ll be interesting to watch what happens over the next couple of months for sure.”

The rise in listings is happening as rental rates pull back, hitting an 18-month low in January after a 4.4 per cent decline on an annual basis, while a wave of condo completions is also expected this year.

The total of nearly 136,000 active listings across Canada at the end of January was up almost 13 per cent from a year earlier, but still below the long-term average for the season of around 160,000, said CREA.

3) Housing starts up 3% in January, but trade risks add ‘significant uncertainty’: CMHC

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Canadian Press Staff, Feb. 17, 2025.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in January rose three per cent compared with December, helped by strength in multi-unit starts in Quebec and B.C.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 239,739 units in January, up from 232,492 in December.

The increase came as the annual pace of urban starts also rose three per cent to 220,643 in January compared with 215,052 in December. The annual pace of multi-unit urban starts, such as apartments, condominiums and townhouses, rose eight per cent, driven by more purpose-built rentals concentrated in Quebec and B.C.

The annual pace of rural starts were estimated at 19,096 units.

CMHC deputy chief economist Tania Bourassa-Ochoa says while housing start data shows early signs of progress to begin the year, “foreign trade risks add significant uncertainty for housing construction going forward.”

CMHC says the six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was down 2.5 per cent at 236,892 units in January.