A seller’s market is emerging in South Georgian Bay with home sales happening faster and more frequently than seen since 2002. The first months of 2016 have proven to be a very strong start to the year in South Georgian Bay’s real estate market.
South Georgian Bay is seeing record highs in home sales in the area. With numbers that haven’t been seen in 14 years, 2016 is starting off on a definite high in the areas encompassing several communities along the southern shores of Georgian Bay. These include Collingwood, Thornbury, Wasaga Beach, Midland, Penetanguishine, Severn, Oro-Medonte, Tay, Tiny, Springwater, Clearview, Meaford, Grey Highlands and the township of Georgian Bay.
Record Setting
The Eastern region of South Georgian Bay is leading the way, with an almost 50% increase in home sales from last January and a whopping 70% increase over last February.
More records were set this February with more than 350 homes sold in January and February, the first time this many homes have been sold in the first two months of the year in the region. On top of this, February 2016 also marked the first time there were more than $50 million in sales in the region, when the value of all residential transactions totaled $77.5 million.
Decreased Supply
With sales going up, supply is inevitably also going down. There is an over 30% decrease in homes available for sale in South Georgian Bay over this time last year.
Kevin Woolham, President of the Southern Georgian Bay Association of Realtors has an optimistic outlook for the year ahead. “At this point 2016 looks like it might be even stronger than 2015 for residential property sales in the region, provided new listings can keep up with demand,” he says.
What Does this Mean for Buyers?
Sales are seeing record highs and the supply of homes has now fallen to record lows, which makes it a definite sellers market. Analysts say this means that prices will rise over the spring and summer months to meet the growing demand. Looking at past trends in the area, home prices have steadily risen, which means the time to buy is now, before prices increase even more. Also, with a market that isn’t saturated in homes, buyers will need to jump on homes they want to buy before they are snapped up by other buyers. Statistically speaking, buyers spend less time shopping in these types of market conditions.
What Does this Mean for Sellers?
With the limited amount of homes on the market, now could be a great time to sell, while buyers have fewer choices. Alternatively, sitting on your home and waiting to see if the market increases even more is another worthy strategy. If you are the type of seller who wants to get in and get out when it comes to selling your home, this is the best time to sell. The number of days a home is on the market has gone down in this area, as long as the home is priced right.
What’s Ahead?
With a strong start to the year, analysts have predicted that the year will continue to be strong, with more home sales and fewer homes available on the market.