First Half 2010 Real Estate Sales Revenue Up 48%

Area real estate sales reported through the MLS® system of the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board continued to show strength in the second quarter of 2010 with year-to-date sales to the end of June up 48% over 2009, despite the tightening up of mortgage qualification criteria and slight increases to the historically low mortgage rates. This, coupled with the arrival of Ontario’s Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) effective July 1st, may account for slower growth in sales during the remainder of the year. “According to the Conference Board of Canada’s index of consumer confidence, consumer sentiment lost some ground after having increased in the first quarter, and is now roughly back on par with levels reported at the end of last year. The decrease in confidence reflects weaker outlooks for household budgets and employment, and less enthusiasm about making major purchases.”

Statistics for the month of June 2010, reflect a slight softening in number of listings and number of sales versus June 2009: 503 properties were listed on the local MLS® system in June 2010, vs. 551 in June 2009, a decrease of 8.7%; 197 properties sold in June 2010, versus 206 in June 2009, a decrease of 4.3%. Sales volume, however, was $61,790,689 in June 2010, vs. $50,660,918 in June 2009: an increase of over 21% stemming from increased sales in every price category above $500,000.

For the first six months of 2010, 985 properties have changed hands year-to-date (YTD), surpassing the 769 properties sold same period last year, an increase of 28.1%. MLS® Sales volume of $281,255,054 (June 2010 YTD) represents a solid 47.6% increase over $190,541,815 (June 2009 YTD). As noted in the chart above, all price categories have seen an increase in number of sales June 2010 vs. June 2009: under $250,000 520 vs. 494, or 5.3% increase; $250,000 to $499,999 375 vs. 234, or 60.3% increase; $500,000 to $999,999 75 vs. 34 or 120.6% increase and in the over $1 Million category, 15 sales vs. 7 sales, or an increase of 114.3%.

The current Georgian Triangle MLS® sales-to-listing ratio shows a return to a more balanced market conditions. With the introduction of the H.S.T., the possibility of slightly higher mortgage rates and tighter qualification rules for mortgage financing, sales activity is expected to remain stable in the months yet may decrease slightly from the somewhat hectic pace experienced in the last quarter of 2009 and first quarter of 2010.