Windsor-Essex Market Report
2022 Year-in-Review
An overview of historical transaction data in Windsor & Essex County
In 2022, Windsor & Essex County, like other real estate markets across the country, saw a significant decline in sales activity. Overall resale units sold were down 24% year-over-year and 14% from the trailing 5-year average. 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 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 a major American city 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 $500K.
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 2022 was $469K, down 2.3% from the prior quarter and around 6% for the 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 have sold 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.
If the average price for a market is significantly higher than its median, it means that the market has a growing number of luxury properties being sold. Across the entire Windsor-Essex board, the average price to end the year was 7.5% higher than its median value. Despite homes in Windsor-Essex losing roughly 6% of their market value in 2022, in the broader context, the region has outperformed the province and most markets in Southern Ontario over the past 5 years, outperforming other corridor cities like Brantford, Hamilton-Burlington, and the GTA. This can be widely attributed to the relative affordability of Windsor homes when compared to homes in these nearby markets. For the preceding 20 years, Windsor prices have more or less lagged behind the growth experienced in these markets, and alongside the Greater London Area, this corner of southwestern Ontario is playing some catch-up. Compared to its trailing 5-year average for median sale price, homes in Windsor-Essex ended the year up 21%. 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, multiple interest rate hikes have resulted in a temporary cooling of the market, with Windsor-Essex ending the year with just over 3 months of available inventory, up double from where it’s been since 2017. Homes are also taking longer to sell, with a median days on market (DOM) of 17 days, up from significantly from a year ago when resale properties were selling in 9 days. Over the last 5 years, the region has a median of 10.5 days on market, so relatively speaking, this is a much more favourable buyers’ market than what Windsor realtors have been used to.
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 $480K and $346K respectively. Over the past 5 years, detached homes in Windsor-Essex has seen prices grow at a slightly faster pace than the apartment segment, with both property types around double what they were in 2017. To end the year, both property types have just over 3 months of inventory, with detached homes still selling relatively quickly at 17 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. In the opposite direction is the town of Tecumseh, located adjacent to Windsor’s west end at the mouth of Lake St. Clair. 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.
To end the 2022 year, Windsor-Lasalle-Tecumseh reported a median sale price of $450K, down only 4.1% on the year and up 23.6% when compared to the trailing 5-year average. This price performance compares favourably to the remaining one-third of sales activity in surrounding Essex County, as well as the overall province. At year-end, resale inventory levels in Windsor-Lasalle-Tecumseh was lower than anywhere else in Essex County or the Greater London Area, with just under 2 and a half months of supply. Inventory levels notably declined from the third quarter but are currently much healthier than where they were one year prior, when they were at half a month of supply, or during the trailing 5 years (1.3 months). Across all property types, homes are selling in just over two weeks, faster than most parts of the province but up 5 days from the trailing 5-year average.
Community Overview
Lakeshore & Area
The municipality of Lakeshore, while just over 10% of current resale activity, is the most expensive market in Windsor-Essex, ending the year with a median sale price of $619K. With a population of just over 40K, the Lakeshore sub-market has seenits population grow at close to twice the pace of the Windsor-Essex region. Compared to a year ago, median prices are down 7.5%, with inventory levels more than double the 5-year trailing average at 5 months of available supply. When compared to the trailing 5-year average for median sale price, properties in Lakeshore are up 18.6%.
Community Overview
Amherstburg
To end 2022, Amherstburg reported a median sale price of $575K, making it the second-most expensive sub-market in Windsor-Essex. Prices were down 13.3% on the year, ending with a sharp decline of 7.2% compared to the third quarter. However, when compared to its trailing 5-year average, median prices are up 19.3%. Months of inventory has steadily grown over the past year, with 5.5 months of inventory available as of year-end, close to triple its preceding 5-year average. When compared to Windsor-Essex as a whole, properties in Amherstburg are taking much longer to sell, with a median listing period of 27 days, up significantly from its trailing 5-year average of 12 days.
Community Overview
Kingsville & Essex
Kingsville & Essex finished the year with a median sale price of $462K, down 6.5% when compared to the same quarter one year ago. When compared to its trailing 5-year average, the median price is up 12.7%, although price growth has been concentrated in the Kingsville area.
A year ago, inventory levels in Kingsville & Essex were much lower, although the market shifted quickly throughout the second half of 2022. At year-end, housing supply is up more than six-fold over the past year, sitting now at 6.5 months, the highest level for all regions within Windsor-Essex. Homes in this area are selling in around 20 days, up 5 days from what locals have been used to over the last 5 years.
Community Overview:
Leamington
Luxury homes aside, the average home in Leamington is relatively affordable, with a median sale price to end the year of $392K. This makes it the least expensive sub-market in Windsor-Essex, with prices down 17.6% year-over-year but up 12.0% when compared to the trailing 5-year weighted average. Months of inventory has steadily grown over the past year, with 5.4 months of inventory available as of year-end, up five-fold from a year prior and more than double the trailing 5-year average. When compared to Windsor-Essex as a whole, homes in Leamington are taking much longer to sell, with a median listing period of 25 days, up 10 days from its trailing 5-year average.
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. A summary of all Windsor markets as of year-end 2022 is presented above and you can subscribe to quarterly updates of the Windsor 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 Corporation, and historical sales data and market insights from leading real estate websites like Zolo, Royal LePage, HouseSigma, and Wahi.
