Sales of area real estate in January continued to show the same strength and momentum that we experienced in the last quarter of 2009. Sales for the month as reported through the MLS® system of the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board totaled $20.5 million as compared to $13.1 million in January 2009, an increase of 55%. Individual property sales for the month showed the same trend also up 55% with 81 properties changing hands as compared to just 52 one year ago.
Whether or not we are fully emerging from the latest recession remains to be seen but one thing is certain, consumer confidence remains high and with interest rates still at record lows, buyers are once again looking a properties and moving forward with their purchasing goals.
New listing activity has tapered off somewhat as have the number of expired listings as many sellers, unrealistic with their pricing expectations are electing to remove their homes from the market. The average residential price in January dipped 4.2% from $294,401 one year ago to $282,128 this year. Most if not all of this decrease in average price is attributed increased sales at the lower end of the market which saw sales in January below $200,000 increase by 46% while sales between $200,000 and $350,000 increased by 74% compared to the same month last year.
Overall we are off to a much more positive start with respect to area sales this year. Are we over the hump? Well that remains to be seen but one thing seems certain, at this point real estate seems to be the key area which is leading us out of the current economic doldrums. Seemingly over heated markets such as Toronto are causing some to put pressure on the federal government to tighten the lending requirements. While this may not affect mortgage rates, it will affect the availability of money to those who do not fully qualify.
No comments:
Post a Comment