Do These Canadian Real Estate Markets Favour Buyers or Sellers? The Results Will Surprise You

Determining if a market is balanced is based on the sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR), which is calculated by dividing the number of home sales by the number of new listings over the course of a given time period. A figure between 40 to 60 per cent is considered to be balanced. The Canadian real estate market as a whole is considered balanced (the national SLNR is 59 per cent), but markets fluctuate significantly throughout the country. Zoocasa has crunched the numbers and has come up with the least- and most-balanced markets throughout the country, with a lower percentage reflecting a buyers’ market and a higher number indicates a sellers’ market.
Related: This is Where to Buy a House in Canada in 2019

Median Home Price:

$335,380
Balanced Market: 42%
Based on the data from June 2019, the Saskatoon market is considered balanced, but is currently the best market in Canada for a prospective homebuyer, with more supply than demand, which offers great value for your dollar.
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Median Home Price:

$980,365
Balanced Market: 43%
While Vancouver remains a hot market, new regulations (including the national mortgage stress test and some provincial taxes targeting foreign buyers) have led things to cool significantly, which is why the country’s most expensive real estate market is currently beneficial to buyers, who are able to buy property for far less than they would have paid a couple of years ago.

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Median Home Price:

$296,921
Balanced Market: 48%
With an SNLR near 50 per cent, Regina is considered one of Canada’s most balanced markets, meaning the city’s real estate market is equally advantageous for buyers and sellers.
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Median Home Price:

$741,786
Balanced Market: 48%
British Columbia’s Fraser Valley is known for its stunning natural beauty and like Regina, boasts one of the country’s most balanced markets with an SNLR of 48 per cent. The market here has not shifted over the previous year, when the SNLR was also 48 per cent.
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Median Home Price:

$370,620
Balanced Market: 55%
Edmonton’s SNLR of 55 per cent reflects a balanced market, but offering just a bit of an advantage for sellers. Given that Edmonton’s SNLR for 2018 was only 45 per cent, the appears to be a market shift from one that favoured buyers to one that now benefits sellers.

Median Home Price:

$832,703
Balanced Market: 56%
Toronto real estate prices have, like Vancouver, dropped considerably from the lofty highs of a few years ago. And while the market is considered generally balanced, it’s a slightly better time to sell than buy at the moment – unlike 2018, when Toronto’s SNLR was a very balanced 51 per cent.

Median Home Price:

$452,135
Balanced Market: 56%
Calgary remains affordable with a balanced market tilting slightly toward sellers. Like Edmonton, Calgary’s SNLR jumped within the past year, with a seven per cent increase shifting from a buyers’ to a sellers’ market.

Median Home Price:

$442,247
Balanced Market: 57%
With a 57 per cent SNLR, Ontario’s Niagara region is almost equally advantageous for both buyers and sellers, while the latter has just a bit of an edge.
Related: 20 Unusual Housing Trends That Are Gaining Traction in Canada

Median Home Price:

$254,592
Balanced Market: 58%
The picturesque city of Thunder Bay enjoys a low median home price of about $250K, while the SNLR of 58 per cent is balanced but offering a slight advantage for sellers. This is a slight decrease from 2018, when Thunder Bay has a SNLR of 66 per cent.

Median Home Price:

$312,625
Balanced Market: 60%
While technically considered to be a balanced market, Winnipeg’s 60 per cent SNLR means it’s also better to be a seller than a buyer in the prairie metropolis. Last year, sellers benefited when the SNLR was calculated to be 66 per cent.

Median Home Price:

$176,432
Balanced Market: 63%
With an SNLR of 63 per cent, the popular New Brunswick tourist destination is officially a sellers’ market. This marks a stark contrast over the previous year, when the market was considered to be one of the country’s most balanced at 51 per cent, with a whopping 12 per cent increase now tipping heavily toward sellers.

Median Home Price:

$689,956
Balanced Market: 63%
British Columbia’s capital city is a favourite for both tourists and retirees; and with demand outpacing supply, it’s a good time to be selling a home in Victoria. The previous year’s SNLR was a far more balanced 56 per cent.
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Median Home Price:

$290,095
Balanced Market: 63%
Quebec City is officially a sellers’ market when comparing the number of home sales to new listings, representing a stark contrast over 2018 when the city’s SNLR was a balanced 54 per cent.

Median Home Price:

$283,614
Balanced Market: 64%
With an SNLR of 64 per cent, demand for homes is outpacing the number of homes for sale, leading to a real estate market that favours sellers.

Median Home Price:

$593,549
Balanced Market: 66%
Located outside of Metro Toronto, the Hamilton-Burlington area currently favours sellers over buyers. The region’s real estate market also favoured sellers in 2018 when the SLNR was 60 per cent, but even more so now.

Median Home Price:

$336,160
Balanced Market: 67%
This part of Ontario boasts a fairly static SNLR over the past year, with a slight drop of three per cent compared to 2018.
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Median Home Price:

$191,985
Balanced Market: 70%
Saguenay has seen the country’s biggest shift in terms of market conditions favouring buyers or sellers. While the market currently favours sellers with a 70 per cent SNLR, 2018 was a far different story when the ratio benefited buyers at a significantly more balanced 48 per cent. The 23 per cent jump from year to year is the largest of any Canadian real estate market.

Median Home Price:

$262,360
Balanced Market: 71%
Sherbrooke hasn’t seen much change from 2018, with a mere two per cent increase, maintaining the Quebec city’s status as a sellers’ market.

Median Home Price

: $403,281
Balanced Market: 72%
There has been no change in balance for these Ontario cities, which boasted a 72 per cent SNLR in 2018 and the exact same ratio this year to remain a sellers’ market.

Home Price:

$322,955
Balanced Market: 72%
While the Halifax-Dartmouth market favours sellers at the moment, its 77 per cent SNLR represents a five per cent drop from 2018, indicating conditions are better for buyers than they were a year ago.
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Median Home Price:

$535,243
Balanced Market: 73%
The Kitchener-Waterloo region is another that has seen little year-to-year change, remaining a sellers’ market with an SNLR just two percentage points higher than 2018.

Median Home Price

: $179,584
Balanced Market: 80%
The Quebec city was a sellers’ market last year when the SNLR was 70 per cent, but conditions are even better for sellers in 2019 thanks the ration’s hefty 10 per cent jump.

Median Home Price:

$456,811
Balanced Market: 81%
The nation’s capital is a good place in which to be selling a home, with an SNLR of 80 per cent representing a six per cent increase over the previous year.

Median Home Price:

$281,221
Balanced Market: 81%
Last year, Gatineau’s SNLR was 66 per cent, but a 15 per cent jump in 2019 means it’s now an even better market for home sellers.

Median Home Price:

$413,902
Balanced Market: 94%
With a 94 per cent SNLR, Montreal can boast Canada’s best real estate market for sellers, representing an eight per cent increase over the previous year.
Related: See 100 Years of Home Trends in These Current Listings