There's stiff competition among prospective home buyers in the St. John's region because listings are unusually low. One real estate agent says deep-pocketed buyers from outside the province are primarily to blame.The housing market is very tight in the St. John's region, and real estate agent Jerry Boyles says one of the reasons is an influx of cash-flush buyers from Ontario and and British Columbia. There's stiff competition among prospective home buyers in the St.
Properties with two self-contained dwelling units known as two-apartments are especially sought after. There's currently a four-month inventory of listings in the St. John's area. That means if no other houses were listed, the market would be dry by March. Traditionally, there's a nine- to 10-month inventory, Stirling explained.
They gobbled up homes in this province for much lower prices than what they were accustomed to, and were more than willing to pay a premium to get what they wanted.At the same time, the province's population started growing through international immigration, and a heavy demand for apartments drove rental rates up sharply. In many cases, apartment rental prices were higher than a typical monthly mortgage payment.
Bill Stirling is CEO of the N.L. Association of Realtors. He says nearly half of the homes listed through the association's multiple listing system over the last six months sold for higher than the original asking price.