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StrongMLS sales combinedwitha reduction in newMLS listingactivity
has resulted ina reductionof availablehousing inventory. Year-to-date,
the number of newMLS listings that have come tomarket totals 1,039
properties,a reductionof12% from the1,177newMLS listings thatcame
tomarket in the first quarterof2014. Similarly, thenumberof “expired”
MLS listingshasdropped substantiallywith491expired listing reported
in2015compared to628 last year, adecreaseof22%.
Statisticallyweare trending into the realmofa“seller’s”market something
wehavenot seen for several years,witha sales-to-listing ratioof40%,as
reflectedby the fact that oneout of every2.5MLSproperties listedhave
sold thus far in2015.
In some keycategories, suchas salesover$1,000,000,wehave seen
adramatic reduction in inventoryasproperties that have sat on themar-
kets for months and even years are snapped upby Buyers who have
made theconsciousdecision tostopshoppingandstartbuying. Inother
market segments,weareexperiencingashortageof listingsperiod. This
has led tocircumstances that havebeencommonplace inothermarkets
southof us, but havebeen rare indeed inour area. Multipleoffers. A
number of recent transactions in diversemarket segments have driven
thispoint home to local REALTORS.
ACollingwood homepricedaggressively soliciteddozens of showing
requests in the first fewdays. 2 snapofferswere rejected in favour of a
more structuredapproach to thebiddingprocess, and thehome subse-
quentlysoldoverasking inmultipleoffers. Aski chalet sale in the“perfect
location” drew threeaggressivebuyerswith a final saleprice substan-
tiallyover theasking. A rural 2bedroomhome inGreyHighlandswith
greatdetached shop solicited2 immediateoffers fromBuyerswaiting in
thewings for just that sort of property. Finally, a fixer-upper power of
sale in Thornbury drew6offers and sold immediately over-askingand
unconditionally.
AreaREALTORSare rapidly tuning in to thisnewmarket realityandare
taking steps tomaximize the return for their sellers. Pre-inspections, offer
registration,andpricingaproperty tosolicitmultipleoffersarebecoming
moreandmoreprevalent aswe see thenumbers swing. To say it is the
rule rather than theexception to the rule isanexaggerationat thispoint,
but in specificcategories that have low inventoryandmanyBuyers, it is
reasonable toexpect to seemoreof thisbehavior.
MLSsales invirtuallyeveryprice rangeareshowingsignificant increases
fromoneyear ago. Salesbelow$200,000areupamodest 8% stem-
ming from the fact that very little can be bought in this market for that
price. Salesbetween$200,000 to$350,000 reflect a27%gain from
last yearwhile salesbetween$350,000 to$499,999and$500,000
to$799,999are up54%and57% respectively. At the upper endof
themarketMLSsalesbetween$800,000and$999,999 total11prop-
erties, an increaseof 83%whileMLS sales over $1millionaredouble
that of last year with10 sales in the first quarter of 2015 compared to
just 5oneyearago.
Aswehad into theprime springmarket, theoutlook for area real estate
sales is very positive. A relatively strong economy, positive consumer
confidenceand thecontinuationof lowmortgage ratesbodewell for the
national real estatemarket overall. Locally, that same increase in con-
sumerconfidencemeans thatpeoplewhohavebeenstudying themarket
andmakingplansareputting thoseplans intoaction.
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ESCARPMENT
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REALESTATE
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marketwatch
SPRING
2015
