Barrie and District home sales post second best January on record

Residential property sales recorded through the MLS® System of the Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® Inc. numbered 257 units in January 2017, an increase of 14.7% from January 2016.

Within the City of Barrie, sales activity declined 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. The City of Barrie saw 129 residential sales in January. A year-over-year increase of 31.3% was recorded in surrounding areas, where sales activity totalled 126 units.

“The reason why home sales in the City of Barrie are falling but rising rapidly in surrounding areas is quite simply because that’s where the listings are,” said Rob Alexander, President of the Barrie & District Association of REALTORS®. “That said, all areas covered by the Association’s MLS® System are seeing historically low levels of supply, and that is being reflected in prices. If you are thinking of buying or selling, call a local REALTOR® who can help you understand these changing markets.”

The year-to-date average price for all homes sold via the association’s MLS® System was $478,186, up 30.9% from 2016.

The year-to-date average price figure for homes sold within the City of Barrie was $460,657. This was an increase of 32.2% compared to the average selling price in 2016.

The year-to-date average price figure for the surrounding areas in 2017 was $490,994, an increase of 25.4% from the average selling price in 2016.

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 January 2017 was $122.9 million, rising 50.2% from year-ago levels. This was a record for the month and marked the first January to reach more than $100 million.

New residential listings fell 10% from January 2016 to 432 units in January 2017. This was the lowest January level in more than 15 years.

Overall supply is currently trending at the lowest levels on record. Active residential listings on the association’s MLS® System numbered 471 units at the end of January 2017, down 33.5% from year-ago levels. This was only the second month ever where active listings fell below 500.

There were just 1.8 months of inventory at the end of January 2017, down from 3.2 months a year earlier. 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 278 units in January, rising 18.3% compared to January 2016. The total value of all properties sold in January 2017 was $137.4 million, up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis.