Woodstock-area real estate market well-positioned to weather COVID-19

Article content

The COVID-19 pandemic brought much of the Woodstock’s region economy to a brief standstill in March.

While the province has gradually reopened aspects of that economy, real estate in the Oxford County area has been one of the least affected by COVID-19.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser.

Woodstock-area real estate market well-positioned to weather COVID-19 Back to video

Lesley Michie, the president of the Woodstock-Ingersoll District Real Estate Board, said home sales have continued to be relatively high as people from the Greater Toronto Area head southwest on Highway 401 for a new home.

“Our market is set by the GTA. We get a lot of people from Brampton and Milton because of our prices,” she said. “They seem very high to locals, but they’re a bargain for someone selling their home in the GTA. Surprisingly, they don’t even mind the long commute.”

Michie said home sales aren’t taking place at quite the same level as they were before the pandemic was declared, but they’re reasonable – and continuing to rebound.

Article content continued

Alex Visscher, a real estate broker who primarily deals in Oxford, said the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit gave affected people enough financial security that demand in housing hasn’t wavered too much.

“It’s coming back strong. … There’s so much demand. We have a very strong banking system in Canada, and it’s not easy to get a mortgage. It does take a lot to qualify for one.”

Visscher said a showing on June 20 for an entry-level home in Tillsonburg generated nine offers before closing.

A subdivision in Otterville, a village about 20 minutes south of Woodstock, listed 26 lots days before COVID-19 hit and only a third remain.

“I don’t see the entry-level market going down at all,” said Visscher, adding he expects the average price of homes in the area to continue increasing. “I can maybe see prices for a higher end house dipping a bit, but the demand for housing is there, especially in this area.”

Despite the scorching sales pace of recent years, COVID-19 briefly brought the real estate market down to earth.

The first half of March continued a torrid pace of homes sales in the region until the pandemic brought the country to a standstill.

Though the pandemic slowed sales, there were still 112 homes sold in March for an average sale price of $478,508.

The region saw a steep decline in home sales for April, plunging to its lowest sales level in nearly two decades. There were 53 homes sold for an average price of $407,336.

The board reported a 50.7 per cent drop in sales from April 2019 and the total value of homes sold – $26.9 million – was a 52.9 per cent drop from April 2020.

Article content continued

May saw an uptick in sales with 78 homes being sold – an increase of 25 per cent from the previous month – for an average price of $480,769.

“At the beginning (of the pandemic), a lot of people were concerned about a possible infection, but also the uncertainty with jobs and loss of income,” Michie said. “I don’t feel that panic or that dire stress people were under. We can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

The real estate board boasts 164 local realtors in the association, Nicole Bowman, its executive officer, said. Many of them have now focused on conducting virtual tours.

There are still some private showings, but the rules are strict, Michie said. People have to wear a mask, a home is sanitized, with only one or two people allowed for a showing, and touching is limited.

“We’re learning a new way to do business as much as possible. It’s a learning curve for everybody. I think it’s gone better than what most people anticipated.”

Tim Hudak, the CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association, said its monthly polling of consumers show people have adapted and embraced the digital side of shopping for a home.

“It’s really transformed people’s comfort level with virtually activity. It enables consumers in their own home to advance their real estate search while working with a realtor and it helps save them time and money.”

He noted polling has shown more than 25 per cent of people searching for a home have shifted their search to look at homes with more space and a larger property – something that could benefit rural areas such as Oxford.

Article content continued

Before the pandemic, the biggest issue was the lack of inventory for potential buyers to choose and that hasn’t changed in the past three months.

Located at the juncture of highways 401 and 403, Woodstock has become one of the fastest growing cities in Southwestern Ontario.

With short drives to major centres such as London, Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo, the city has continued to expand while construction sites for new homes seemingly appear almost daily.

“We’ve always been pretty good here,” Michie said of the Woodstock market. “Even before Toyota came, we were always a bedroom community and a desirable place to live because of the location at the junction of (highways) 401 and 403. We’re basically half an hour to everywhere.”