A Look at Niagara’s 2024 Real Estate Market

Price Stability for Four Months in Niagara

The Overall Benchmark Price for the Niagara Region at the end of December 2024 was $633,300. In December of 2023, the benchmark price was $618,400. That’s a 2.4% increase.
However, the benchmark price peaked at $815,900 back in March of 2022, and compared to December that signifies a -22.4% reduction.
Yet from August to November ‘24, the benchmark ranged from a low of $638,500 in October to a high of $640,200 in August, pointing 4 months of price stability.

The Sales to New Listing Ratio

The SNLR is an indicator of demand. It gauges the number of sales compared to the number of new listings. There are three guidelines for reading the SNLR. Between 40 and 60% represents a balanced market though this is a fairly wide range. Above 60% is a seller’s market. Below 40% is a buyer’s market.
However, one can see that a percentage on the low end of a range displays a weak transition to more demand. For example, a market in the low 40% range would be viewed as a balanced market but still much closer to a buyer’s market.

A Snapshot of the SNLR

The following is a representation of the SNLR compared to other markets.

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association’s most recent numbers, the Sales to New Listing Ratio for Niagara was 32% in November of 2023. This increased to 41.2% in November of 2024. Compared to other major markets, Niagara sits at the bottom end. This means both supply and prices are high. Here are some other markets:

• Windsor was just up from Niagara at 41.2% for ‘23 and 45.8% in ‘24.
• Toronto is up from Windsor at 40.3% in 2023 and 50.7% in ’24.
• Interestingly Hamilton was seventh from the bottom at an SNLR of 47% in ’23 versus 59.3% in ’24.
• Thunder Bay was the top market with an SNLR of 88.4% in ’23 and 100% in ’24.

Improvements to the SNLR can primarily be attributed to cuts in the interest rate, at least for variable mortgages, as well as unleashing some pent-up demand and improved affordability. Whether the market will continue to improve will depend on a number of variables not to mention possible U.S. tariffs and a newly elected Canadian government.