The number of homes sold in South Georgian Bay is down this month over June last year, but average selling prices are still climbing high.
The South Georgian Bay Association of Realtors (SGBAR) released statistics for the month of June, and the story continues to be a low inventory of homes to sell, as has been the case for a couple of years now.
“Sales activity was still running at subdued levels in June, down from the last few years but about on par with the 2008-2013 period,” said Matthew Lidbetter, President of the Southern Georgian Bay Association of Realtors. “Even so, with inventories still trending near all-time lows, the average home price is holding near record highs.”
The overall supply of homes for sale is still at near record lows, according to SGBAR, with 1,179 units listed for sale across the region at the end of June.
There were 313 residential units sold in June 2018, which is down by 23.7 per cent from June 2017. Year-to-date, there have been 1,468 units sold in six months in 2018, which is down by 30.6 per cent over 2017 sales.
However, the value of homes sold in the region was $152.8 million, which is down by about 14 per cent from June last year.
The western region (including Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, Clearview, The Blue Mountains, Meaford and Grey Highlands) accounted for 173 of the units sold in June 2018, which is about three-quarters of the units sold in the same area in June 2017.
According to SGBAR, there were 622 new residential listings in June 2018, which is about a 10 per cent decrease compared to last year. It was also the lowest number of new listings for the month of June since 2003.
"With an increase in supply it is possible that there would be a proportionate increase in sales volume," said Lidbetter. "However, it is hard to know whether the current state of the local housing market is more of a demand story or a supply story."
There are 3.8 months of inventory remaining, which means it would take less than four months to sell all the properties listed for sale right now at current sales rates. Last June, there was a 2.8-month inventory, but the long-run average is 7.8 months, according to SGBAR.
