The Windsor Essex County’s housing market is booming

By: Johnathan Hutton

 
Home sales in Windsor-Essex are up 6.22 per cent since September and are predicted to continue rising, according to the Windsor Essex County Association of Realtors.

 

Windsor has been hit hard by the 2008 recession which led to the closure of its General Motors transmission plant in 2010 and several other business resulting in job losses and layoffs. As a result several Windsorites lost their homes or had to move elsewhere.

 

According to Cindy Sorkopud, a realtor from Royal Lepage Realty in Windsor, after the all time market low in 2008, they have no where to go but up.
 
“Windsor is currently a balanced market, leading towards a sellers market. There has been a shortage of inventory but there is also supply and demand,” said Sorkopud.
 
Other reasons Sorkopud gave included lower interest rates for home buyers.
 
“Of course supply and demand always drives the market, but I think low interest rates have helped also, said Sorkopud. The interest rates have been low for quite some time. I think right now you can get a five year mortgage for 2.89 per cent.”
 
According to a study done by Statistics Canada in 2011, about four in five people who bought a home between 2006 and 2011 had a mortgage. Favourable interest rates encourage home buyers to sell and buy new homes.
 
A study by the WECAR showed that the housing market in the region is making a comeback.  In one year housing sales have increased by 12 per cent.
 
This demand for homes in Windsor is reflected in the prices of the homes, which have slightly increased. According to the WECAR, the average price of a home has increased by $9,005 since last September.  The most common price point of the year so far for houses are the ones that are between $100,000 and $139,999, with 782 being sold so far this year.
 
New housing developments have been springing up to meet these demands. Typically home buyers tend to be older as they are usually the ones with greater job security. Statistics Canada shows that 31.5 per cent of recently purchased households between 2006 and 2011 were by people less than 35 years old. This means that approximately 70 per cent of all home owners in Canada are over the age of 35.
 
“For me, my demographic market is more between age 40 and 60,” said Sorkopud.
 
Many buyers who can’t find what they are looking for in this demanding market are deciding to build their own homes. Dave Antovski, 42 , is a resident of south Windsor and has researched the housing market for over three years.  Although he and his wife tried to find a home in the south Windsor area, they were unable to find the house they wanted in the area they preferred.
 
“It was this indecision that helped us decide to build our house instead of buying,” said Antovski.  “It was important to move into a home that was specked out exactly the way we wanted. We dictated the layout, how big the rooms were going to be and what features we wanted to add to it.”
 
Eventually they bought a property in LaSalle that he said was close to friends and family and in a nice area.
 
Whether people are looking to build their own homes or buy them, they should be prepared to pay a little more to get the home they are looking for.