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Register for 2022/2023 Schedule your vocal placement today Where young leaders find their voices! www.oakvillechoir.com Tuition Fees - No change from last season Quarterly Payments Bursaries Available Volunteer Buyout Refer A Friend Rebate Fundraising Credit Contact us Today! ciation president. "I've been through lots of ups and downs of the market and ... I've never seen interest rates rise as quickly at one time," said Lou Piriano, president of the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington. In attempts to rein in in- flation, the BoC hiked in- terest rates by four times since March, after lower- ing it to record levels at the start of the pandemic. Starting last November, average property prices in Halton Region saw an up- ward trend of nearly $200,000 until February, av- eraging around $1.5 mil- lion, before plummeting back to the current average of $1.2 million, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) website. It accumulates da- ta for Halton municipali- ties. BoC increased the benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to 2.5 per cent last month, im- pacting the rate of lending for things including mort- gages and lines of credit. This represents a 2.25 per cent surge compared to the BoC's benchmark rate of 0.25 per cent, which was in place since the beginning of the pandemic. The next scheduled date for announcing the over- night rate target is Septem- ber 7. Piriano said individ- uals with low income looking to qualify for a mortgage will be affected most by the rising interest rates. "The hike in interest rates on March 2 changed the market almost right away," said north Halton- area Royal LePage sales representative Betty D'Ol- iveira. "The subsequent hikes slowed down the market even more and put the buyers in pause mode. Some buyers had to buy be- cause they had sold in Jan- uary/February so we still saw a decent number of sales in March and April but come May, buyers ei- ther felt the prices were on- ly going to further reduce or their interest rates made it more difficult for them to secure the mortgage they wanted." Out of 1,073 new listings registered in Halton Re- gion in July 2021 and 1,167 in July 2022, 925 homes ex- changed hands last July as compared to just 510 this year, states TRREB's web- site. Oakville had 386 new listings in July with 162 houses sold, compared to 379 listings and 323 sales in July 2021. Burlington had similar trends with 380 new listings and 177 houses sold in July in comparison to 326 new listings and 263 houses sold in July 2021. Milton's market offered 265 new listings with 114 sales in July as opposed to 257 new listings with 246 sales in July 2021. Halton Hills had 136 new homes listed in July with 57 sales, and 111 new listings with 93 sales in July 2021. "I think the general shortage of housing, immi- gration opening up and fear of further rate increas- es may motivate some buy- ers to buy while at the same time, some buyers may simply wait to see if the prices will continue to go down," D'Oliveira said. Oakville investor Amy Liang, who relied on re- building and selling homes for nearly 25 per cent of her income, says it is challeng- ing to find a way through the unprecedented market. "I'm anxious because I don't know what is going on. I don't want to spend too much money buying an ex- pensive house when the material costs (to rebuild) have increased too," Liang said. "Last year, the market was really good but now I have to think if I can still make a profit." Liang said her bank loan approval rate went up from nearly 3.15 per cent last year to 4.8 per cent this month only to not hear a re- sponse to any of the offers she made. "It's a big difference," Li- ang said. After having tried to rent out properties, reno- vate and rebuild, Liang is considering alternate ways of investing in real estate during its changing dy- namics. Added Oakville Century 21 realtor Navdeep Gahu- nia: "It isn't what was hap- pening before where peo- ple just bought and flipped houses within a couple of months. Now people are buying homes because they need to move." In July 2022, Halton's average property prices were over $100,000 more than the average of $1.1 mil- lion in July 2021, according to TRREB. Averages, however, are not a direct comparison for all properties, Piriano said. While the median price (at which half the houses sell) of a Burlington house was $972,000 in July 2021 and $1.02 million in July 2022, the statistical average price of properties in the area is relatively higher, he added. "The average is being maintained higher by the sales of more expensive properties," Piriano said. Gahunia said a market correction was long over- due and several investors are choosing to pause ac- tivity while at the "brink of a recession." "I don't anticipate a mar- ket crash," Gahunia said. "I expect the market to dip down a little bit more with the next rate hike and I think September will real- ly decide how things are go- ing to shape up in the near future." STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Amid Ontario's ongoing housing market volatility, we wanted to examine the impact on real estate sales in Halton. NEWS Continued from page 1 HOUSING MARKET CAUSING PLENTY OF ANXIETY Luke Edwards/Metroland Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington President Lou Piriano is among those keeping a close eye on the fluctuating housing market. RAHB photo