Hello LV Readers! Doesn’t November feel like the hump month of the year? It’s similar to Wednesday, in that it falls smack in the middle of two exciting things. It falls right after Halloween but before Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Years. Do you get what I’m saying? No? Oh well, let’s move on to real estate.

This month, we saw a decrease in total condo sales year over year and month over month and a surprising increase in sales volume year over year and month over month. Let’s delve into the numbers for our Liberty Village condo market in October and let them do the talking.

How Many Condos Sold in Liberty Village In October?

October 2022 saw a total of 9 condo sales in Liberty Village. In comparison, October 2021 saw a total of 34 condo sales. A 277.78% decrease – wow! We’re going to sound like a broken record, but if you follow real estate, it will be no surprise that inventory and interest rates have increased and demand has decreased. For buyers, this can be seen as both positive and negative news – less competition and more to choose from but higher interest rates and therefore, less purchasing power. It’s also important to remember that as the weather gets colder, the fewer the buyers. So this, in compound with the current conditions of the market make this small number of buyers no surprise.

When looking at condo sales month over month, September 2022 had 15 sales. That’s a 66.67% decrease in condo sales month over month. As mentioned above, we see that condo sales decrease as the weather gets cooler, except, inventory doesn’t usually increase at the rate that we are seeing. We can attribute this decrease in condo sales month over month to the interest rate hike and the fall, almost winter market. The increase in supply can be explained by the various properties that are simply not selling and being carried over to the following month. Some listings are even being terminated, meaning, they are being removed from the market. Some sellers are opting to rent out their units, not because that is their preference, but because the rental market is far more dependent than the sale market. Another factor could be that the interest rate hikes are affecting those with variable rate mortgages and the monthly carrying cost is becoming too expensive – hence, the need to sell. We are very intrigued to see how prices were affected… stay tooned for this later in the blog post.

To sum it up, condo sales in October decreased month over month and year over year and the number of buyers confident enough to make their biggest lifetime purchase was a tiny number due to the cooler weather, lack of demand, surplus in inventory and increased interest rates.

Sales volume tells us part of the story. Let’s look at prices. Did values increase, remain the same or decrease from October 2021 to October 2022? Let’s take a look at the average sale price for all types of condo sales year over year.

The average sale price in October 2022 was $868,333 on the 9 sales. The average sale price for the 34 sales in October 2021 was $773,438 . A 12.27% year over year increase in sale prices. Wow! This is something we haven’t seen in quite a few months. Not something we expected, for sure. Let’s look deeper into the types of condos that sold in October 2022. More than half of the condos that sold were 2 bed, 900-1,400 sq ft condos. Usually, the sold units are more evenly distributed between the bachelors, 1 beds and 1+1 beds, with the most sales occurring in the 1 bed sector. So, while a 12.27% year over year increase is exciting and novel, and we certainly don’t want to downplay the increase, context matters. Do you think prices will increase or decrease year over year? Let us know your predictions in the comments below.

The average sale price in October 2022 was $868,333 on the 9 sales. The average sale price for the 34 sales in October 2021 was $773,438 . A 12.27% year over year increase in sale prices. Wow! This is something we haven’t seen in quite a few months. Not something we expected, for sure. Let’s look deeper into the types of condos that sold in October 2022. More than half of the condos that sold were 2 bed, 900-1,400 sq ft condos. Usually, the sold units are more evenly distributed between the bachelors, 1 beds and 1+1 beds, with the most sales occurring in the 1 bed sector. So, while a 12.27% year over year increase is exciting and novel, and we certainly don’t want to downplay the increase, context matters. Do you think prices will increase or decrease year over year? Let us know your predictions in the comments below.

Now, what about sales volume month-over-month? The average sale price in September 2022 was $731,937 on the 15 sales. A 18.63% month over month increase in sale price. Woah! Similar to September 2022, prices increased, pretty substantially month over month. This is a spin on the overall picture, where prices have been falling consistently month over month, up until last month. It’s undeniable that owners are having a hard time rationalizing selling their condo in this type of market. Although, when we talk about a 18.63% month over month increase, this can be the final push for an owner to list their unit. Some may decide to sell in the spur of the moment to capitalize on this month over month increase, with the worry that this type of increase won’t happen again for a while. Other owners may remain optimistic that this means the market may turn for the best.  Remember, context matters. In September 2022, more than half of the sales occurred in the 1 bed, 0-699 sq ft sector (which we mentioned is a common statistic). So, if we directly compare this to this month’s sales, we’re putting 1 bed prices against 2 bed prices. When looking at it this way, we have to understand that the month over month increase is a bit skewed. It IS a month over month increase, nonetheless, but we have to look at the numbers intelligently and critically.

The Liberty Village condo market for October 2022 has proven to be a surprising one. We do have to give a notable mention to the 12.27% year over year increase and 18.63% month over month increase in sale price. What are your thoughts?

Any predictions for the rest of the Fall and Winter market? Let us know in the comments below.

Curious how October 2022 differed from the year before? Take a look back at our post for the Liberty Village condo stats in October 2021.

If you have any specific questions about the market or are curious as to how this relates to your Liberty Village condo, get in touch. You can fill out our Condo Value Form or send us an email.

Kylie Solway

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