2024 Real Estate Market Overview: Prices & Trends
The market’s up, the market’s down… but how did our real estate market perform in 2024? To answer this, let’s take a look at the median and average (mean) prices of houses sold during the year.
Note that “median” means “in the middle”, so a median price is the price where exactly half of the sold prices are higher and the other half are lower, elimating any prices that may be very high or very low, which could skew the average (mean) price. If the average price is much higher than the median, this indicates that there were more homes sold at a higher price than the median. Considering both median and average prices helps to provide a more complete understanding of the real estate market.
Based on statistics from the Central Lakes Association of Realtors, the graph below illustrates the median price of single family homes (detached and attached) on a monthly basis through 2024, in select towns and cities in Northumberland, Hastings, and Prince Edward County.
Port Hope
The municipality of Port Hope (orange line) started 2024 quite slowly wth a median price of $495,000 which then increased sharply in February, seeing a median price of $______. With a number of ups and downs through the year, the median price in December was $660,000 while the median price for the entirety of 2024 was $705,000. This is noted as the highest price of all cities mentioned here, explained by its proximity to Toronto.
The total number of listings sold in Port Hope in 2024 was 241 with listings remaining an average of 26 days on the market (Days On Market, or DOM). The average (mean) price was $764,000.
Cobourg
Like Port Pope, Cobourg (blue line) saw lower median prices in January ($640,000) and ended the year on a stronger note with a median of $730,000. For the most part, the rest of the year saw more balanced prices with less drastic swings. The median price of houses sold in 2024 was $675,450.
There were a total of 420 sales, with houses remaining on market an average of 37 days (DOM). The average (mean) price of houses in Cobourg for the year was $728,000.
Brighton
The Municipality of Brighton (red line), started the year with a median price of $495,000 in January, with a significant jump in the spring, and then a mild softening during the summer months. Median prices finished the year at $610,000 in December. The median price of houses in Brighton throughout 2024 was $620,000.
The average (mean) price in Brighton in 2024 was $647,000, with a total of 235 houses sold and listings taking an average of 47 days on market.
Quinte West
Along with the Municipality of Belleville, real estate prices in Quinte West (green line) are the most affordable of the six municipalities considered. The median price in January was $480,000 yet finished in December at $552,500. The median price for the year was $540,000.
The average price of houses in Quinte West in 2024 was $573,000 with 629 houses sold and listings staying an average of 39 days on the market.
Belleville
The Municipality of Belleville (purple line) started in January with a median price of $521,000 and finished the year with a median price of $450,000 in December. These are the lowest prices among the cities and towns considered. The median price in 2024 was $515,000.
A total of 819 listings were sold in Belleville in 2024 with houses staying on the market 39 days before selling. The average price of single family homes in the municipality of Belleville in 2024 was $534,000.
Prince Edward County (PEC)
Prince Edward County started the year fairly strongly with a median price in January just above the $700,000 mark. The first half of the year saw significant oscillations in the median price, while the second half showed a gradual decrease, finishing in December with a median price of $555,000. The overal median price of single family homes in 2024 was $665,000.
A total of 374 listings sold throughout 2024, with an average price of $775,000. Average Days on Market (DOM) in Prince Edward County was the longest of the municipalities considered, at 61 days.
Key points:
- Median and average property prices in 2024 continued to show monthly fluctuations in most of the towns and cities considered, with some favouring seasonal fluctuations. Cobourg and Port Hope shared the highest real estate prices given their proximity to Toronto. Quinte West and Belleville continue to be more affordable, while Prince Edward County was the only Municipality that saw an overall decrease in median price, given primarily to the large inventory and low real estate sales. Additionally, as the largest city mentioned, Belleville has more homes to offer at lower prices, which may drive affordability
- Based on the Months of Inventory (MOI) as an indicator, as of February 2025, Port Hope, Cobourg, Quinte West and Belleville have less than 6 months of inventory (Months of Inventory defined as the time it would take to sell the current inventory of listings, should no more listings enter the market), which puts these cities in a balanced market (2 to 6 months). Unless sales increase in February, Brighton may enter into a Buyers’ Market (over 7 months of inventory), while Prince Edward County remains in a Buyers’ Market with 8+ months of inventory;
- The decrease in interest rates at the end of 2024 has not yet translated to an immediate demand for houses, and as a result real estate prices have not yet seen any evident increase in the majority of our cities. We are expecting however, that the market will be much more active in 2025 with Buyers and Sellers