Residential property sales recorded through the MLS® System of the Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® Inc. numbered 371 units in February, rising 31 per cent from year-ago levels. This is the first time on record that sales have topped the 350 mark in the month of February.
As a result of the strong demand in February, seasonally adjusted sales activity jumped 24 per cent on a month-over-month basis.
Within the city of Barrie, sales activity was up by less than the overall trend for the region. The city of Barrie saw 243 residential sales in February, up 25 per cent from one year earlier.
On a year-to-date basis, sales activity was running 23 per cent ahead of the first two months of 2011, and stands roughly on par with the record for this period set in 2007.
“Demand came in much stronger than expected in February, even after accounting for the extra day and warmer weather this year,” said Walter Doret, President of the Barrie and District Association of REALTORS®. “At the same time the overall supply of properties for home buyers to choose from continues to trend down, and that’s leading to further price gains.”
The year-to-date average price for all homes sold via the Association’s MLS® System in February 2012 was $296,096, up eight per cent from levels at the same time last year.
The year-to-date average price figure for homes sold just within the City of Barrie was $280,714. This was a nine per cent increase compared to the same period in 2011.
The Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® cautions that over a period of time, the use of average price information can be useful in establishing trends, but it does not indicate actual prices in widely divergent areas or account for price differentials between geographical areas.
The dollar value of all home sales in February 2012 was $111.5 million, up 44 per cent from year-ago levels.
Active residential listings on the Association’s MLS® System numbered 1,365 units at the end of February 2012. This was down seven per cent from the overall supply at the end of February 2011.
There were 3.5 months of inventory at the end of February 2012 on a seasonally adjusted basis, down from 4.5 months at the end of January. This was the lowest level of inventory since October 2009. 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.
Sales of all property types in the Barrie region numbered 378 units in February, up 31 per cent compared to February 2011. The total value of all properties sold in February 2012 was $112.5 million, up 44 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
