Windsor-Essex Market Report
2023 Year-End Update
Windsor prices more or less unchanged from a year ago; with less inventory, homes are selling 10 days faster than other markets like London and Toronto
In 2023, Windsor & Essex County, like other real estate markets across the country, saw a continued slowdown in sales activity. Overall resale units sold were down 16% year-over-year and 36% from record levels set in 2021. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), through its various real estate boards and provincial associations, compiles transaction data for each of its major markets, with the CREA Stats Centre reporting sales data going as far back as 1980. While historical stats should never be the sole indicator of what’s to come, they are helpful to review and consider as part of the broader context. In this year-end update, we'll outline year-end transaction highlights for each of the communities comprising Windsor and surrounding Essex County, as well as overall performance by property type.
Windsor & Essex County: Regional Overview
Windsor, the start of the Quebec City-Windsor population corridor, is the seventh largest city in Ontario and the 15th largest metropolitan area in Canada. Directly across the river from Windsor is the American city of Detroit, with the two cities forming the largest and busiest trans-border urban area in North America. Windsor-Detroit experiences significant cross-border travel and tourism, as well as commerce, with the area well known for being the automotive capital of North America. Directly south of Lake St. Clair and 30 minutes north of the banks of Lake Erie, Windsor locals are a short drive from miles of beautiful waterfront and surrounding nature. However, despite close proximity to Detroit and a large economy of its own, homes in Windsor are significantly more affordable than other cities in Southern Ontario, with an average price to end the year of around $518K.
45 minutes south-east of Windsor lies the town of Leamington and Point Pelee National Park, the southernmost point in mainland Canada. From there, driving up the peninsula along the shores of Lake Erie you will find the picturesque towns of Kingsville and Amherstburg, along with some of the most fertile and tropical landscapes in our country. For anyone who has spent time in Windsor and surrounding Essex County, they will be familiar with greenhouses and fruit stands, breathtaking escarpment views along the lakefront, and a growing number of wineries. The area is experiencing significant growth in recent years, with prominent new investment into the region from Canadian cannabis producers, the broader agricultural sector, as well as residential home builders. To the north and running along Lake St. Clair, the growing sub-market of Lakeshore rounds out the region, with the combined Windsor-Essex area recording 6% growth in population between 2016 and 2021.
Windsor & Essex County: Total Market Overview
Across all communities included in Windsor & Essex County, the median sale price observed in the final quarter of 2023 was $473K, down 7.1% from the third quarter and flat year-over-year. A quick note on median versus average values. Median sale price, which reports the sale price of the middle-priced property in a group, is a more reliable metric than average sale price because it removes outlier transactions (i.e. properties that have sold for either a lot of money or for next to nothing). Outlier transactions skew the average from what it really should be, which is the price of the average, or mid-priced home, in a particular community. Across the entire Windsor-Essex board, the average price to end the year was 11.4% higher than its median value.
Despite the continued market slowdown and decline in average sale prices, Windsor-Essex has outperformed the province and most markets in Southern Ontario over the past 5 years. This can be widely attributed to the relative affordability of Windsor homes when compared to homes in these nearby markets. To compare Windsor’s performance against other major markets in the province, check out our article on Top Markets in Ontario here.
Part of what drove Windsor’s phenomenal price growth during the pandemic was its low inventory, or housing supply available for buyers. To end the 2021 year, Windsor-Essex had only 0.7 months of inventory, which meant that listed homes were selling in just under three weeks. Without new homes hitting the market, Windsor inventory would have disappeared in less than a month. When inventory levels are this low, prices have to rise on account of too many buyers bidding on too few properties. This leads to bidding wars and runaway prices, explaining part of why Windsor prices are double what they were 5 years ago. Over the trailing 5 years, Windsor-Essex has been a tight sellers’ market, with an average of only one and a half months of resale inventory.
Throughout 2022 and extending into 2023, multiple interest rate hikes have resulted in a temporary cooling of the market, with Windsor-Essex ending the year with 3.6 months of available inventory, more than double the historical supply recorded since 2018. Homes are also taking longer to sell, with a median days on market (DOM) of 15 days, unchanged from a year ago but one week longer than the trailing 5-year average.
Due to its low population density relative to the rest of Southern Ontario, over 90% of properties in Windsor-Essex are detached homes. Detached homes, as expected, are more expensive than the apartments and semi-detached segment, with median sale prices to end the year of $482K and $386K respectively. The apartment segment was notably up 11.6% year-over-year, although it currently has twice the available inventory than detached properties in Windsor-Essex. As expected from this increase in supply over the second half of 2023, apartments are now taking 28 days to sell at year-end, while detached homes are relatively unchanged from one year prior at 14 median days on market.
Community Overview
Windsor-Lasalle-Tecumseh
The city of Windsor is comprised of three main regions: Windsor proper, Lasalle, and Tecumseh. Windsor proper, which comprises the majority of neighbourhoods and its downtown core, has a population of 230K. Running south down the river is the community of Lasalle, with a population of just over 30K. The riverfront community is less than 20 minutes from downtown Windsor, with its own residential core alongside an abundance of green space, river tributaries, and golf courses. In the opposite direction is the town of Tecumseh, located adjacent to Windsor’s west end at the mouth of Lake St. Clair. Tecumseh’s population of 23K is mainly based near the waterfront, although the town also comprises the sprawling rural area surrounding Windsor and its two main highways. These three sub-regions, most notably Windsor proper, each have multiple neighbourhoods within them, and in total account for two-thirds of resale activity in Windsor & Essex County. Given the wide-variety of neighbourhoods, it’s important to speak with a realtor knowledgeable in your preferred location and property type in order to get a better sense of what – and where – you may be able to afford.
At 2022 year-end and continuing throughout 2023, resale inventory levels in Windsor-Lasalle-Tecumseh are lower than anywhere else in Essex County, now with just under 3 months of supply. While still double the historical supply since 2018, less than 3 months of supply is generally considered a seller's market and vulnerable to bidding wars. Across all property types in Windsor proper, homes are selling in roughly 14 days, 2 days slower than activity in the third quarter and 4 days slower than the trailing 5-year average. To end the year, Windsor-Lasalle-Tecumseh reported a median sale price of $450K, falling 4% from the prior quarter and finishing the year flat.
Community Overview
Lakeshore & Area
The municipality of Lakeshore, while just over 10% of current resale activity, is an expensive market in Windsor-Essex, ending the year with a median sale price of $565K. With a population of just over 40K, the Lakeshore sub-market has seen its population grow at close to twice the pace of the Windsor-Essex region. Compared to year-end 2022, median prices are down 9%, with similar inventory levels around 5 months. Properties in Lakeshore are now taking 19 days to sell compared to 21 days during the final quarter of 2022.
Community Overview
Amherstburg
During Q4-2023, Amherstburg reported a median sale price of $621K, making it the most expensive sub-market in Windsor-Essex. To end the year, the median price is up 8% year-over-year, driven by a decrease in supply that is 2 months lower than levels recorded in the prior quarter and from one year ago. Despite the decrease in supply, properties in Amherstburg are still taking longer to sell than anywhere in Windsor-Essex, with a median listing period of 22 days.
Community Overview
Kingsville & Essex
Kingsville & Essex ended the year with a median sale price of $469K, down 21% from the prior quarter but up 2% year-over-year. With prices drastically more expensive in the luxury lakefront neighbourhoods of Kingsville when compared to the town of Essex and the surrounding rural areas, large swings in average prices can be observed quarter-to-quarter due to changes in property mix across a small sample size of transactions. As always, speak with a realtor experienced in your preferred location to get a more refined view on how demand for a specific neighbourhood may be shifting.
During the record peak, inventory levels in Kingsville & Essex were much lower. Inventory grew during the final quarter of 2023, now sitting at above 6 months of supply and more than double the trailing 5-year average. Homes in this area are now taking around 18 days to sell, slightly faster than one year prior when they were taking 21 days.
Community Overview:
Leamington
The average home in Leamington is relatively affordable, with a median sale price to end the year of $417K. Prices are up 6% year-over-year 8% when compared to the trailing 5-year weighted average.
After inventory levels steadily grew throughout 2022, the first half of 2023 saw inventory decline to 4.3 months. However, inventory spiked to over 8 months in the third quarter, more than four times the trailing 5-year average for the area. To finish the year, inventory levels stood at 5.8 months with homes selling in 21 days.
Archived Reports
Windsor & Essex County Market Updates
Third-Quarter 2023 Market Report
Second-Quarter 2023 Market Report
Summary
The Windsor & Essex County report will be updated on a quarterly basis. Every market is different, but understanding available inventory levels alongside recent price and market trends can help prospective buyers and sellers make more informed decisions. Subscribe to quarterly updates of the Windsor-Essex Market Report report by completing the contact form below.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. As you contemplate the next steps in your real estate journey, there are a variety of helpful online resources you can leverage, such as realtor.ca, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp, and historical sales data and market insights from leading real estate websites like Zolo, Royal LePage, HouseSigma, and Wahi.
