Yellowknife Market Mid-Year Review

We’re halfway through 2023!  What has the Yellowknife market looked like so far this year?  In short, the number homes listed is down slightly and the number of sales is down even more, which has resulted in slight buildup of inventory and a slightly longer average time to sell a home.

51 listings is still not a ton of selection.  In fact, it is less than two months of inventory, which is lower than most markets.  But it’s a lot more than we became used to during the pandemic.

Given all the recent interest rate increases, it is fair to ask why things haven’t slowed down even further?  We believe there are two main reasons.  The first affects markets from coast to coast.  When rates started rising, many people locked in at a rate that is lower than what is available today.  So, unless they are planning to leave the country or move into rental housing, they have little incentive to sell now, because this would mean buying another home at a much higher rate.  Until these homeowners are close to the end of their mortgage terms and are staring down rate increases regardless of selling or staying put, they have a compelling reason to stay put.  In other words, interest rate increases can take a lot longer to affect markets than people realize.

And the second reason is very local – employment and workforce participation levels remain high in Yellowknife and there are a lot of vacant jobs waiting to be filled.  We need more housing in order to fill these positions, but there is no vacant land for sale in our city.  So demand for existing houses remains very high.

If you need help buying or selling a home, we would love to help!  Contact us today to get started – prospectrealty@century21.ca.