2014 Niagara Real Estate Market Recap

What Happened in Real Estate in 2014? Did you know the average house in the Niagara Region SOLD for 97% of the List Price? In 2014 it took an average of 60 days for homes to sell. and the average sale price was $260,986!

District	Average Sale Price	Average Days on Market	Average Sale Price/ List Price	Average Sale Price/ Original Price	Average Sale Price 2013	Average Days on Market 2013
Fort Erie	$212,918	91	95%	93%	$203,760	98
Fonthill/Pelham	$376,069	75	97%	95%	$347,520	83
Grimsby	$372,940	45	97%	96%	$349,544	51
Lincoln	$327,969	54	97%	96%	$304,145	53
Niagara Falls	$239,327	62	96%	96%	$224,643	65
Niagara-On-The-Lake	$470,141	95	95%	96%	$435,406	114
PortColborne/Wainfleet	$213,227	80	94%	93%	$199,099	83
St. Catharines	$235,551	43	97%	96%	$224,650	46
Thorold	$228,005	61	97%	95%	$222,873	51
Welland	$198,039	61	96%	94%	$185,546	65
West Lincoln	$364,851	57	97%	94%	$375,568	64
Niagara Region	$260,986	60	97%	95%	$248,565	64

St. Catharines leads the way again in the Days on Market with 43 (well below the Niagara Region average of 60) and receiving 97% of the List Price with an average sale price of $235,551. Grimsby had the highest Sale Price/List Price percentage getting a staggering 98% of the List Price, however they still received the Niagara Region average of 96% from the original List Price. N-O-T-L tops the charts with the highest average sale price with $470,141 but as you can see from the chart below N-O-T-L properties also spent the longest time on the market with 95 Days. Fort Erie came second with 91 Days on Market and 95% of List Price and 93% of the Original List Price, and Port Colborne/Wainfleet third with 80 Days on Market and 94% of List Price and 93% of the Original List Price. What does this mean? If you want to sell a house in those areas you need to plan ahead and be patient. Also, since most homes will sell for 97% of their list price, be realistic when pricing your home for sale. Overpricing with the plan to negotiate down substantially often backfires. That may have worked years ago, but in today’s world of quick access to data, buyers are more educated than ever before. They will quickly bypass the overpriced home for cheaper comparable properties.

Most Districts showed a respectable increase in Average Sale Price compared to 2013 while West Lincoln was the only District that had a slight decrease in average sale price, and considering there were only 68 Sales in 2014 in West Lincoln it is no cause to sound the alarm. The average sale price/list price has increased to 97% for the Niagara Region compared to 96% in 2013.

We do see that sale prices decrease in the Districts that have higher days on market. This shows us that the longer your house is on the market, the lower the actual sale price will likely be.

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The Statistical information provided is based on residential/condo listings within the Niagara Region, (St Catharines, Fort Erie, Fonthill/Pelham, Grimsby, Lincoln, Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Colborne/Wainfleet, Thorold, Welland, West Lincoln). This information was taken from the Niagara Association of REALTORS® database.