Following slightly weaker sales
activity in October compared to the prior year, area real estate sales in
November regained the momentum we experienced in through much of the late
spring and summer.
Area real estate sales reported through the MLS® system of the Southern Georgian Bay Association of REALTORS® reflected a 9% increase in unit sales
during November with a total of 147 properties being sold. Dollar volume for the month totaled $44.0
million, up 11% from $39.5 million sold in November 2012. The higher increase in dollar volume is due
to the fact that several high-end sales took place during November. I will point out that two sales which
combined totaled just over $3 million were for properties outside of our market
area and I have subtracted these to arrive at the net sale number above.
Year-to-date MLS® sales now total 2,009 properties up 7.5% from the
1,869 individual sales reported in the first 11 months of 2012. This marks the first time since 2007 that
MLS® sales in our area have surpassed 2,000 units sold in annual sales. Year-to-date dollar volume of $594.9 million (which
excludes the two out of area sales mentioned above) is up 8.4% from 2012 so we
will for the first time crack the $600 million dollar barrier for annual sales
volume in 2013.
The following is a summary of the key price ranges where most of the
sales activity is taking place in 2013. Year-to-date
sales under $200,000 are up 9.8%, sales between $350,000 to $500,000 are up
18.1% while sales in the $800,000 to $1 million and over $1 million price ranges
are up 20.0% and 11.5% respectively.
The municipalities of Clearview and Meaford continue to outpace all
other area municipalities in terms of MLS® sales. Sales in Clearview Township are up 15.7% in
terms of units sold while the Municipality of Meaford is up 26.4%. Year-to-date MLS® sales in the Town of
Collingwood are essentially equal to last year while MLS® sales in Wasaga Beach
and the Blue Mountains are up 2.2% and 5.2% respectively. The Municipality of Grey Highlands shows a 15.3%
decrease is residential sales during 2012 and I maintain that the closure of
Talisman Resort has had some impact on the demand for real estate in that area. 
Single family home sales through the end of November total 1,306 homes sold, an increase of 3.6% over last year. Meanwhile condominium sales are up 8.5% with 358 units sold year-to-date through the local MLS® system. Vacant land sales have also rebounded in 2013 from prior years with 140 vacant lots or land parcels sold though the end of November, an increase of 20.7% from this time last year. 
While sales in 2013 have been very strong and the available housing
inventory remains high, we continue to see a reduction both new and expired listings. Year-to-date the number of new MLS® listings
that have come to market in 2013 reflects a 2.0% decrease totaling 6,109
properties. Through the end of November effectively
1 in every 3.0 listings sells whereas by comparison, at the end of the 1st
quarter of this year the listing-to-sales ratio had just 1 in every 3.8
properties listed for sale selling.
As the market starts to wind down with the approaching holidays, MLS® sales
and listing activity will taper off only to regain momentum in January. We will certainly set a new level for MLS®
dollar volume in 2013 and all indications are pointing to a continued strong demand
for area real estate in 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment