2022 A Year in Review!

In 2022 we saw the uncertainty of COVID transition to the return of travel and then some dramatic increases of interest rates and gas prices, all of which had great effects on the Haliburton Real Estate Market. COVID had created a strong desire to get out of the city and Cottage Country was the first place that came to mind so everyone started buying cottages.  In 2021 we saw 493 waterfront properties sell. As life returned to “normal”, people started traveling again putting the purchase of a cottage on the back burner, then interest rates kept increasing often completely putting off the decision to buy a second property in cottage country. This meant the number of sales dropped substantially to finish off the year with 282 waterfront properties sold. 43% less than 2021.  However, when it comes to residential properties these factors had very little impact, as the number of residential sales was only down by 43 properties in 2022 compared to 2021.

Time on the market did have a significant increase near the end of 2022 however the average for the year in both waterfront and residential properties held at 23 days for waterfront and 29 days for residential, only a few days difference from the average of 2021. A part of this is likely caused by the lack of waterfront properties for sale making the ones that were listed very desirable and therefore selling fairly quickly.

The average % of list price for 2022 surprisingly held over 100% for both waterfront and residential properties. The last few months of 2022 we were seeing this ratio in the mid to low 90’s which will likely continue throughout 2023. Accepting less than asking is slowly becoming the new normal, however we are still seeing the occasional bidding war.

Average sale prices in Haliburton County have continued to rise despite the change in market. 2022 saw an average sale price of slightly over 1M dollars on waterfront properties, a 16% increase from the average sale price of 2021 and the residential market saw an 8% increase nearing the mid 500K range. COVID certainly gave the Haliburton areas market value a big boost but 2022 is showing us that boost is here to stay as market value continues to rise.

Stay tuned for our 2023 outlook post coming soon!

If you are thinking of Buying or Selling contact Team Cottage Country today!