Wondering how to make sense of all the COVID-related Markham real estate headlines? They are not always as they seem and here’s why.

“Sales Down” “Prices Up” – What It Means for Markham Real Estate

If there is one thing certain about the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that it puts a veil of uncertainty over many parts of our lives. Nowhere is this truer than if you are in the market for a Markham house for sale, or if you want to sell your Markham home.

In addition to concerns about how the pandemic will affect real estate sales and prices as it progresses, home buyers and sellers can’t help but be more than a little confused by recent real estate headlines. 

Making Sense of Markham Real Estate Headlines & News

Even before COVID-19, real estate headlines generally revolved around two real estate statistics: the number of houses sold, or “sales”, and the average price of houses. Naturally, as the pandemic developed and lockdowns began, all eyes were on real estate markets in the GTA to see how they would be affected. Here’s some of what you might have read since the COVID-19 quarantine began.

Sales of Toronto Homes Down 70% 

Headlines like this, one were among the first to appear as early April. With an unprecedented worldwide pandemic just starting, both buyers and sellers pulled to the sidelines of the market. People wanted to make sure their families were OK, that they still had a job – and even had enough toilet paper.

What it Meant for Markham Real Estate – The number of Markham homes sold in April this year was down 74.6% from April 2019, from 382 to 97 homes. The number of new homes being listed was down even more at 76.2% from 822 in April 2019 to 195 in April of this year. Therefore, the drop in sales was mainly due to fewer homes being put on the market.   

The Price of Your Toronto or GTA Home Keeps Going Up  

This is a more recent headline, from late July, but it applies to what’s been generally happening to home prices since the pandemic began. 

Despite the negative “Home Sales Down” headlines, house prices in both April and June enjoyed healthy increases in Markham, Toronto and the GTA.

In April of this year, average prices for Markham homes of all types, including detached houses, semi-detached houses, townhouses and condominium apartments, increased by 9.55% from April 2019. Average prices went from $913,438 to $1,009,436.

The news turned positive in June as average prices for Markham homes of all types increased by 15.81% to $1,086,502 from $914,776.

If you found this article helpful, you can learn more about navigating real estate markets during COVID by reading our article “Should I Wait Until After Covid-19 Eases Before Selling My House?