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Real Estate News
Increased Sales in 2009
| A graph showing the latest average sale prices for residences in the Hasting and District Real Estate Board (Ontario, Canada) will be updated here on a monthly basis. Data for any month is generally available in the second week of the following month. |
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PRESS RELEASE FROM THE QUINTE & DISTRICT REAL ESTATE BOARD INC.
Sales:
Dollar sales, for all categories in the month of December, 2009 increased by 98.0%, going from $17,582,800 in 2008 to
$34,815,709 in 2009. The Residential sales for December, 2009 increased by 63.6%, going from $16,488,950 in 2008 to
$26,969,582 in 2009.
Listings:
The number of new listings, year to date, decreased 7.7%, from 7,709 in 2008 to 7,114 in 2009. The new Residential
listings for the month of December increased from 140 in 2008 to 175 in 2009.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS:
Great news for the real estate market in the Quinte area - Sales are up for the 6th consecutive month and the year ended
almost identical in overall sales, compared to 2008. Sales for the month of December was 182 units, which is a 72%
increase over 2008 (106 sales) and 20% increase (145 sales) over 2007. January 2010 sales have started out on a very
positive note with many listings coming on to the market. The Canadian economic outlook seems quite positive for 2010
and indications are that sales will continue to improve. The Military market appears to be strong. New Housing has
started out earlier than usual this year, thanks to good weather and a decrease in units for resale. The $100k to $300k
range in resale and new housing will again be the dominant market for 2010. Interest rates are staying stable for the time
being, hopefully bringing an increase in listings this year, to meet the demand. The listing to sales ratio for 2009 was one
sold for every 2.4 listings. Homes that are priced right to market conditions and that are in ‘move in’ condition are the
quickest on and off the market. Also with HST on the horizon a lot of purchases will happen by the end of June to beat
the extra tax in services. So Sellers, talk to your Real Estate Professional about the best approach to sell your home, in
the shortest time period. Sales occurred in the following categories:
| $0 to $99k |
37 units representing 19% of sales |
| $100k to $199k |
84 units representing 46% of sales |
| $200k to $259k |
33 units representing 18% of sales |
| $260k to $399k |
23 units representing 13% of sales |
| $400k to $499k |
4 units representing 2% of sales |
| $500k + |
3 units representing 2% of sales |
As of December 31st the following listings were available for purchase: 1,324 residential; 116 farms; 443 plots of vacant
land and 180 commercial properties. In 22 of the 34 districts within the Quinte & District Real Estate Board jurisdiction,
the average residential sale price ended the year above 2008 figures. Sales in the fall of 2008 and the first 6 months of
2009 were slow compared to other years but with the last 6 months of steady sales in 2009, the momentum continues for
increased sales going into 2010. With the current good weather there is a low quantity of listings, so sellers it’s an ideal
time to get your
For local market expertise and information, be sure to use the professional services of one of our REALTOR® members. Also please note that these statistics represent the entire Board jurisdiction and statistics vary from area to area.
Why Use a REALTOR®?
The Quinte & District Real Estate Board serves the interest of 388 licensed real estate Agents in the Belleville, Quinte West, Prince Edward, Madoc, Marmora, Stirling, Tweed, Brighton, Campbellford/ Seymour, Colborne, and Deseronto areas as well as other adjacent communities.
Roy Millar
President
Visit our website at www.quinte-MLS.com
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Bob's Comments:
A Good Year Overall, and a Real Opportunity for First-Time Buyers - Right Now
As indicated in the press release in the column to the left, overall results for 2009 have been good, with total dollar sales being slightly above those of 2008 (up 1.8%)
In this graph,
we can see that the economic decline in the fall of 2009 ended here with rapid growth from February through April of 2009. Since then, the story has largely been one of the market slowly gaining stability, and the average residential sale price during most months this fall has shown a substantial recovery over the depressed prices we saw a year ago.
That said, what is the best way to understand the drop we saw in December 2009?
It might be helpful to look back a little further and see the season trend in prices that occurred two years ago -
You will notice that, even when the real estate market was stable and growing back at the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, there was a seasonal drop in average residential sale prices during the winter months followed by a resurgence again in the spring.
This is not unusual, so it was reasonable for us to expect a decline this year as well, but the strong market meant that it was delayed. At the present time, the market is much stronger than it was last year (dollar sales were up 98% ofver last year, even in December), and many of us are optimistic about a strong seasonal growth in both demand and prices again next spring.
Note to New Buyers:
In terms of making gains from your investment and starting to build equity, the best time to get into real estate is when prices are low, as they are right now. An additional benefit is that interest rates are also low, so you can find a house that you can afford and have the security of locking into rates that will guarantee affordability for several years to come.
Consider that, in the past year, the very best time you could have made a purchase was last January. If you did buy then, you were almost assured of an increase in the value of your property as the year went on. (See the graph above.)
Right now there is another dip in average residential sale prices and another opportunity to get into home ownership at a reasonable price with reasonable mortgage rates.
Would you rather wait for spring when there will be many more buyers competing for the homes that are still listed?
If you think this is the right time for you to become a home owner, give me a call, and I will help make it happen for you.
Bob Foster
Cell: 613 921 3933
Toll free: 1 877 752 5558
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