During 2015, real estate
activity across southern Georgian Bay remained very robust. Despite a sluggish first quarter due to the
severity of our 2014/2015 winter and a significant reduction in the amount of
inventory listed for sale, 2015 was another year of record MLS® sales in our
region. 
MLS® sales for 2015 reported by the Southern Georgian Bay Association of REALTORS® for the markets we serve totalled $804.9
million, an increase of 21% over 2014.
Individual unit sales reflected a 15% increase with 2,386 properties
sold in 2015 compared to 2,080 in 2014. During
the past year, we continued to see considerable strength in the upper end price
segments of our market which explains why the increase in dollar sales of 21%
outpaced the unit sales increase of 15%.
Sales over $500,000 were up 26% in 2015 with a total of 327 properties
sold compared to 260 sold in 2014. Of
particular note, MLS® unit sales between $600,000 & $700,000 increased 36%
with 80 sales reported. MLS® sales between
$800,000 & $900,000 totalled 32 properties, an increase of 39% while sales
over $1 million of 48 properties reflected a 23% increased over the prior year
and we expect this trend will continue. 
Conversely to the 15% increase we saw in MLS®
sales during 2015, the number of new MLS® listings that came onto the market in
2015 reflected a 15% decrease from one year ago. During 2015, a total of 4,347 new MLS®
listings came to market compared to 5,129 in 2014. To put this in perspective, 55% of the properties
listed for sale on our local MLS® system sold in 2015 compared to 40% of MLS®
listed properties selling in 2014. On
numerous occasions, properties that were well priced drew multiple offers
sometimes selling for their full list price or higher. This was particularly prevalent in the
$250,000 to $400,000 price range where demand seemed to be the strongest. This phenomena is more commonly found in the
hyper active Greater Toronto real estate market but with a strong demand and
reduced housing inventory, the scenario played out often in our area last year
shifting the market more in favour of sellers than buyers.
Single family home sales across our region
were up 11% in 2015 with 1,742 MLS® sales reported while area MLS® sales for
condominiums of 474 units represented a 7% increase over 2014. Vacant land MLS® sales which had been
languishing in recent years saw a resurgence as well in 2015 with total MLS® vacant
land sales up 30% from the prior year.
Most area municipalities saw a year-over-year
increase is single family home sales, most notable of which was WasagaBeach. MLS® sales in Wasaga Beach
totalled 568 homes, an increase of 28% from 2014. This was followed by MLS® home sales in the
Blue Mountains which were up 17%. The
Municipality of Meaford saw a 12% increase while single family home sales in
Collingwood were up a more modest 5%. By
comparison, Clearview Township and the Municipality of Grey Highlands had
decreased single family home sales of -5% and -14% respectively in 2015.
It is important to note that the
aforementioned statistics reflect MLS® market activity as reported by the
Southern Georgian Bay Association of REALTORS® and do not include sales made
directly by builders and or developers of non-MLS® listed properties. Most area municipalities have new single
family home and or condominium projects currently under way which when added to
the strong MLS® sales activity we are experiencing, further illustrates the
allure our area has. This will further serve
to drive the demand for real estate as we head into 2016. Notwithstanding a downturn in our overall
economy, significantly higher interest rates or other as yet unforeseen
factors, the only issue we seemingly face which could slow down sales is the
lack of available inventory to meet the growing demand.
There has never been a better time to maximize the equity you have in your area property. Contact me for a no obligation assessment as to the value of your home, chalet or condominium.
