With housing top-of-mind for Ontarians as election looms Windsor's real estate market cools

With the Ontario election less than one week away and interest rates rising, the real estate market in Windsor-Essex is experiencing a cool down.

However,the price of a home is still significant, leaving many constituents feeling left out of the market, yet hopeful that the election might bring with it some improvements.

"Optimism and hope is always there because that's all we have, right?" said Shanike Gordon, a single mom with two kids renting an apartment in Windsor.

Gordon hopes to get into the housing market soon.

"That's the goal at the end of the day you have somewhere for you and your kids to be able to call home," she said.

The latest numbers indicate a shift in the local real estate climate, with buyers taking a more conservative approach, and sellers not seeing as much competition for their houses asbefore, according to Windsor realtor Abe Alhakim.

"We've noticed a slowdown in the market over the past few months," explainedAlhakim, who works withLC Platinum Realty.

"We've noticed buyers have put their plans on hold, especially with the increase in interest rates from the Bank of Canada, which has already had one interest rate increase and more is planned over the next few months. And also there's an Ontario election coming up, so people want to kind of see how things work out over the next few months."

After months of prices climbing, the average price of a home in Windsor-Essex dipped to$692,759 in April. It was the first decline in the average sale price of a home since September 2021. At its peak, the average price of a home reached$723,739 in March.

The number of sales also dipped by 16 per cent in April compared to the month prior. Sales also dropped by nearly 19 per cent compared to April 2021.

Alhakim describes it as a "mixed market" where some homes are still selling significantly over asking price with multiple offers and bidding wars, while other houses aren't seeingthe same kind of demand.

As for what's anticipated for the coming months, Alhakim noted, "that's the golden question."

"I anticipate the market will stay stabilized and balanced over the next few months, but it remains to be seen how expected interest rate increases are going to affect the market and also the Ontario elections."

He noted that the decline has some feeling "fearful" while others are jumping at the opportunity to buy a home at a cheaper price point.

Housing key election issue

Housing costs are a key issue for voters across Ontario, with bidding wars and low supplyhaving driven prices up in recent years. To address the issue, the PC Party, NDP and Liberal Partyleaders have all pledged to build 1.5 million homes if elected.

For Leamington's Terry Maiuri, it's particularly concerningashe considers the impact the soaring prices are having on his son.

"It's just getting ridiculous for the younger generation,I'd say, to afford housing," Maiuri said.

His 20-year-old son is close to completing his university studies, and Maiuri is concerned about what comes next.

"Itold my wife the other day, with the price of houses, I said, 'My God, he's going to be living with us until he's40.' Like, how does someone starting out as an adult afford housing, let alone apartment rentals?" he asked.

"It just seems a little ridiculous."

He added that while politicians say they realize there's a problem, he doesn't think any party is doing enough to address the issue.

Shanike Gordon on housing

2 years ago

Duration 0:47

Single mom Shanike Gordon shares her hope of buying a home one day.

Windsor voter Lisa Lum says affordable housing is key for her this election. She said, after living in her Walkerville home for eight years, she was recently evicted after her landlord sold the duplex she was renting.

Now, she's in a new home in the same neighbourhood, but it's significantly smaller, paying $500 more in rent.

As for whether she might want to buy down the road, she doesn't believe that to be realistic given the state of the market.

"I wouldn't be able to with the bidding wars that are here," she said.

"I mean, how do you even get the down payment when homes that were bought, you know, five years ago for $120,000, and now they're going for five and $600,000?"

While she's optimistic more can be done by political leaders to address rent control, she doesn't have confidence much will change when it comes to real estate.

As for Gordon, she's not sure she'll be voting at all in the provincial election, but explained stronger action on housing could sway her.

"Anything that caters for housing, families, single families especially, I'm all for it," she said.

Meanwhile, Alhakimcontinues to monitor the market, adding that he doesn't expect a major correction in the market, but envisions the market settling into a plateau this year.