Staff
Residential sales recorded through the MLS System of the Southern Georgian Bay Association of REALTORS came in above year-ago levels in February 2016.
Home sales numbered 227 units in February of 2016, jumping 47.4 per cent from a year earlier.
The Southern Georgian Bay Association of REALTORS comprises two distinctive markets. Home sales in the Western Region, which includes Wasaga Beach, Springwater, Clearview Township, Collingwood, The Blue Mountains, Municipality of Meaford, and Grey Highlands, were up 39.5 per cent on a year-over-year basis to 159 units in February 2016.
This was the best February on record and the first to record more than 150 sales.
Home sales in the Eastern Region encompassing the Towns of Midland and Penetanguishene, and the Townships of Georgian Bay, Severn, Oro-Medonte, Tay, and Tiny totaled 68 units in February. This was an increase of 70 per cent from February 2015 and marked the best February in more than a decade.
On a year-to-date basis home sales totalled 381 units over the first two months of the year, rising 31.8 per cent from the same period in 2015. This was not only a record for this period but also marked the first time there had been more than 350 sales in the first two months of any year.
Year-to-date sales in the Western Region were up 21.4 per cent and recorded a gain of 59.5 per cent in the Eastern Region.
“At this point 2016 looks like it might be even stronger than 2015 for residential property sales in the region, provided new listings can keep up with demand,” said Kevin Woolham, President of the Southern Georgian Bay Association of REALTORS. “The level of market tightness we’re seeing right now is almost unprecedented, so it’s hard to see how we’ll avoid another round of big price increases this year.”
The number of new residential listings in February 2016 was 312 units, down 2.8 per cent from a year earlier to the lowest level in more than a decade. The majority of the decline stems from a shortage of new supply in the Western Region.
Overall supply remains at the lowest levels in more than a decade. There were 837 active residential listings on the Association’s MLS System at the end of February 2016, down 30.4 per cent from year-ago levels.
There were 3.7 months of inventory at the end of February, down from the 7.8 months recorded at the end of February 2015 and well below the long-run average for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
The value of all residential transactions in February was $77.5 million, rising 66.6 per cent from a year earlier. This was a record for the month and marked the first time that any February recorded more than $50 million.
Sales of all types of properties numbered 259 units in February, an increase of 54.2 per cent compared to the same month in 2015. The total value of all properties sold in February 2016 was $86.9 million, up 68.6 per cent from February 2015.
