For a full recap of 2011 market conditions, please visit http://blog.collingwood-bluemountain.com/collingwood where you can find more detailed charts and analysis.
Here are some things that are good to know for the next time that someone starts talking to you about the real estate market: you're going to look real good. You can say things like, "Did you know that 40% of all residential properties sold in Collingwood are condominiums?"
I'm happy to report that the real estate market is alive and well in Canada, including here in the Collingwood - Blue Mountain and area marketplace. 2011 followed very similar patterns to other economic sectors with a slow start in the first half of the year and a gradual improvement leading to a pretty strong finish in the last quarter.
The economic turbulence that we are witnessing around the world did not lead to a retreat in residential sales and prices. While we are not immune to the effects of global turmoil, Canadians seem to be proactive in advance of rising housing values and expected rising interest rates ahead. Here's how things looked locally.
There were a total of 1869 sales of all types in all areas reporting on the Georgian Triangle Association of REALTORS® MLS® system. In addition to 1161 single family home sales, there were also 352 condo sales, 127 vacant land sales and 35 sales of industrial or commercial land and buildings.
(Point of Interest: There were an average of less than 10 sale ends per REALTOR®)
Of the 1869 total sales: • 584 (31.2%) were under $200,00 • 686 sales (36.7%) were between $200-$300,000 • 422 Sales (22.6%) were priced between $300-$500,000 • Almost 68% of all sales were below $300,000 • 177 (9.5%) were over $500,000 representing the top tier of the Georgian Triangle marketplace. There were 29 sales over the one million dollar mark including 7 over 1.5 million.
While the year started out well behind 2010, by the final quarter, sales in 2011 pulled well ahead of 2010 with a strong finish in the month of December. At the end of December, there were 1722 properties listed for sale compared to 1592 in December 2010. So while we are seeing an increase in demand, we also have increased supply which has the effect of holding the sales-to-listing ratio below 30%. This means that it is still buyer's market conditions in most areas.
The Georgian Triangle reporting area includes several communities that overlap with other reporting areas such as Essa, Tiny, Mulmur, Springwater and areas completely outside of our board area. These are all included in the statistics yet may not present an accurate view of those communities.
Here is a breakdown showing the 12 month average, single family residential sale price (Number of Sales By Area) Collingwood $289,747 (303) Blue Mountains $552,280 (153) Wasaga Beach $276,400 (385) Clearview $293,098 (155) Meaford $288,991 (88) Grey Highlands $325,521 (77)
CONDOMINIUMS Condominiums represent a large part of the market - especially in Collingwood and Blue Mountain where 93% of all area condo sales take place. Condominiums, in fact, represented 40% of all dwelling units sold in Collingwood in 2011 and 45% of dwelling unit sales in the Town of Blue Mountains.
For my PREDICTIONS for the 2012, and more information on market conditions and charts, please visit my blog: http://blog.collingwood-bluemountain.com/
All MLS® data and/or statistics obtained from the Georgian Triangle Association of REALTORS® which generally reflects resale values and statistics. Many of the larger new home developments are not listed in our system.
ZIP Code: L9Y Location Characteristics: Town of Collingwood is in South Georgian Bay area and is Ontario's Favourite Four Season Playground!
