If you are thinking of moving, be prepared to pay even more for your next house if it is in Windsor-Essex.
The February report from the Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors says the average price to buy a home jumped 18% last month over February 2016. At $246,935, it is also more than $11,000 more than last May's peak price of $235,011.
Association President Kim Gazo says multiple offers on the same home continue to be the norm, but she thinks there are a couple of other factors at play.
"The interest rates have been so low for so long, and everyone hears echoes that they may be going up. That I think drives people into the market," she says. "The fantastically mild winter we've been having, I also believe [is good] for house selling."
Gazo says the jump is a good sign for sales this spring, but can not say if the increase is sustainable.
"Honestly? I don't think we can always run at this rate because then we'd be at the prices in Toronto before we know it, and I don't really see that happening in the near, near future here," says Gazo.
Listings were actually down in February by 3.6% from last February, but the year-to-date figures suggest 6.2% more homeowners have decided to put a for sale sign on their front lawn. Sales continue to make gains, up 12.5% from February 2015.
2016 was a very hot year in the real estate market in Windsor-Essex with almost monthly gains in sales. The only exception was October when sales dipped 6%.
