September a strong month for home sales in the Barrie region

Residential property sales recorded through the MLS® System of the Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® Inc. came in well above year-ago levels for the third consecutive month in September 2011, and stood on par with some of the strongest September sales figures on record.

Home sales numbered 387 units in September 2011, an increase of 17 per cent compared to the same month last year. Within the city of Barrie, gains were in line with the overall trend for the region. The city of Barrie saw 243 residential sales in September, up 19 per cent from one year earlier.

“Demand in September came in only slightly below the record month of September set in 2009, and stood on par with the second best ever September sales figure, so it was a very good month for home sales in the region,” said Catherine Garbe, President of the Barrie and District Association of REALTORS®. “As a result of recent sales gains, activity for the year-to-date pulled ahead of last year’s levels for the first time this year, and remained above levels in the first nine months of 2009 as well.”

The year-to-date average price for all homes sold via the Association’s MLS® System in the first nine months of 2011 was $289,254, up two per cent from the same period last year.

The year-to-date average price figure for homes sold within the City of Barrie was $269,258. This was also a two per cent increase compared to September 2010.

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 September 2011 was $113 million, up eight per cent from year-ago levels.

New residential listings edged down two per cent from a year earlier to 655 units in September. The number of active residential listings on the Association’s MLS® System was 1,693 at the end of September 2011, down 12 per cent on a year-over-year basis.

There were 4.3 months of inventory at the end of September 2011 on a seasonally adjusted basis, down from 4.8 months in August. This was the tightest balance between supply and demand since March 2010. 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 types of properties in the Barrie region numbered 397 units in September, up 17 per cent compared to September 2010. The total value of all properties sold in September 2011 was $115 million, up seven per cent from September 2010.

The Barrie and District Association of REALTORS® Inc. covers a geographical area that includes the City of Barrie and part or all of the surrounding townships, including Springwater, Oro-Medonte, Innisfil, Essa, Bradford-West Gwillimbury and Clearview.