Area Real Estate Sales Soften in November

Area real estate sales activity slipped in November compared to the same month last year with MLS®

 unit sales down 14% and dollar revenue off 18%.  Sales in the final 3 or 4 months of 2009 were very robust as the market rebounded from the dark recessionary days of late 2008 and early 2009 so this year's shortfall was somewhat expected.

Sales reported through the MLS® system of the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board (GTREB)

 in November totaled 142 properties compared with 165 in November 2009. In November 2008 only 87 sales were reported so we've come a long way back to stable market conditions. Sales revenue for the month was still a respectable $38.9 million compared to $47.7 million last year and was almost double the $21.9 million worth of properties sold in November 2008.  Despite the softening of sales in November, year-to-date MLS® sales activity continues to remain strong.  Unit sales for the year are up 4% with a total of 1,820 sales reported through the end of November.  Dollar revenue is up 12% and totals $513.5 million for the first 11 months of this year stemming from significantly stronger sales of higher-end properties in the area this year versus last.

 MLS® listing activity for the month continued to trend upwards as it has in prior months giving buyer plenty of properties to choose from.  A total of 420 properties were listed in November up 4% from the prior year, year-to-date MLS® listings total 6,046 and 8% increase over 2009.  With over 6,000 listings year-to-date and 1,820 sales, 1 out of every 3.3 properties or 30% of those listed are selling.

  In my next posting I will recap year-to-date sales by area and price range.