Windsor-Essex Market Report
2024 First Quarter Update
Windsor prices up close to double digits year-over-year with homes still selling 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. To start the new year, sales activity and inventory is on pace with levels recorded in Q1-2023. 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 latest 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 start the new year of $555K.
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 first quarter of 2024 was $525K, up more than 7% 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. The same concept extends to selling times, with Windsor's average days on market currently at 29 days while the median listing is actually selling in 15 days to start 2024. A few select listings that sit on market for 100 days or longer skews the average much higher than what is actually happening for most resale properties in Windsor-Essex.
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 strong price growth during the pandemic was its shortage of 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 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. To start the new year, inventory has dropped below 3 months with a median days on market (DOM) of 15 days, levels more or less in line with those recorded a year ago and more balanced 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 first quarter median sale prices of $540K and $397K respectively. The apartment segment continues to outperform, up 13.6% year-over-year with inventory falling sharply to start the new year. However, with apartment inventory still double its trailing 5-year average and greater than inventory for detached homes, apartments are taking much longer to sell at 25 median days.
Community Overview
Windsor-Lasalle-Tecumseh
The city of Windsor is comprised of three main regions: Windsor, Lasalle, and Tecumseh. 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, ending the year with around 3 months of supply. Inventory fell again to start the year, now just above 2 months and approaching a strong seller's market.
Across all property types in Windsor proper, homes are selling in roughly 13 days, 1 day quicker than activity in the prior quarter and only 3 days slower than the trailing 5-year average. During the first quarter of the year, Windsor-Lasalle-Tecumseh reported a median sale price of $500K, rising sharply from the prior quarter and now up 10% year-over-year.
Community Overview
Lakeshore & Area
The municipality of Lakeshore runs along the shores of Lake St. Clair, with the town centre of Belle River less than 20 minutes from Tecumseh and West Windsor. Alongside Belle River, Lakeshore is comprised of multiple small communities along the lake and throughout the interior, which is mostly rural landscape on both sides of the 401 highway.
The municipality of Lakeshore, while just over 10% of current resale activity, is the most expensive market in Windsor-Essex, with a median sale price of $670K in the first quarter. With a population of just over 40K, the Lakeshore sub-market has grown at close to twice the pace of the Windsor-Essex region. Compared to a year ago, median prices are flat with slightly more inventory for buyers to choose from at just under 4 months. Unlike Windsor-Essex as a whole, properties in Lakeshore are taking longer to sell at 27 median days, up from 19 days during the final quarter of 2023 and 14 days on average over the trailing 5 years.
Community Overview
Amherstburg
The town of Amherstburg is a 30 minute drive south of downtown Windsor, located along the Detroit River at the mouth of Lake Erie. Its population of 24,000 is mostly based in the town centre, although there are many small hamlets and rural communities nearby. Golf courses, wineries, and conservation areas dominate the surrounding landscape. It is second smallest sub-market in Windsor-Essex after Leamington, with 369 resale units sold over the last twelve months.
To start the year, Amherstburg reported a median sale price of $615K, down slightly from the prior quarter but up 8% year-over-year. Inventory levels now stand at 3.6 months, down from the prior quarter but still featuring more supply than a year ago as well as the trailing 5-year average. Properties in Amherstburg are selling 2 days faster than the prior quarter but still one week longer to sell than Windsor proper, with a median listing period of 20 days.
Community Overview
Kingsville & Essex
Moving further south past Amherstburg along highway 20 is the lakeside town of Kingsville, with the town of Essex 15 minutes inland. Beyond these primary towns centres, the surrounding landscape is mainly agricultural, with a vibrant winery scene centered near Kingsville and along the waterfront. In total, this sub-market has a population of just over 40K, with 550 resale units sold in 2023.
Kingsville & Essex begins the new year with a median sale price of $512K, up sharply from the prior quarter and around 5% 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 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 was sitting at above 6 months of supply to end 2023 but has already been halved to start the new year. Despite the sharp decrease in supply, homes are taking longer to sell, in line with market conditions one year prior at just under one month.
Community Overview:
Leamington
Leamington, home to Point Pelee National Park and the Pelee Island Ferry Service, represents the most southern part of our beautiful country. It is also known by a few for being the Tomato Capital of Canada. Leamington can be reached from Windsor in 45 minutes along highway 3, but if you prefer the scenic route, you can take the 90 minute drive along the Lake Erie waterfront. The scenic route passes first through Kingsville, with the surrounding neighbourhoods along the escarpment featuring some of the finest luxury properties in Windsor-Essex. In the opposite direction along the Point Pelee peninsula is the small town of Wheatley, with mostly rural properties, greenhouses, and farmland beyond the Leamington and Wheatley town centres.
Luxury homes aside, the average home in Leamington is relatively affordable, with a median sale price of $492K in the first quarter. Prices are up sharply from the prior quarter and around 5% year-over-year. To finish the year, inventory levels stood at 5.8 months with homes selling in 21 days. To start the new year, resale supply declined to more balanced market conditions at 3.1 months, still slightly above the trailing 5-year average but lower than levels recorded one year ago. Homes in Leamington are now selling in 20 days, one week faster than nearby Kingsville-Essex.
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.
