Overview: Record November Leaves YTD Sales Just Shy Of $1 Billion!




November’s dollar sales of $84,271,278 were up a whopping 54% from last November’s prior record of $54,887,227, while unit sales of 187 were up 8% from last year’s 173. With new listings down 10% from a year ago, this November had a very high 89% sales/listings ratio.
Turning to the year-to-date numbers, Graph 1 shows that 2016’s dollar sales of $990,066,103 are up 31% from 2015’s prior YTD record, and up 53% from 2014. And as Graph 2 shows, this year’s unit sales of 2626 are up 16% from last year’s prior YTD record of 2259, as well as up 33% from 2014’s 1972. Additionally, 2016’s record YTD sales/listings ratio of 69% is up 15% from 2015, while the average sales price of $377,024 is up a big 12% from this time last year.

These numbers – particularly November’s sales/listings ratio of 89% and the 12% YTD average sales price increase – mean two things: the demand for listings still GREATLY exceeds the supply and sales would likely be even higher if there were more homes on the market.

The Market In Detail
As Table 1 and Graph 3 show (below), 2016’s YTD numbers generally translate into all the market metrics for different price ranges.
While unit sales are down 7% in the $100K-$299K sales range, they’re up in all other ranges. The entire $300K+ range is up 41%, with particularly big gains of 57%, 49%, 52% and 131% in the $500K-$799K, $800K-$999K, $1M-$1.499M and $1.5M+ ranges respectively. Even sales in the under $100K price range – which have generally decreased with each passing year due to fewer and fewer homes being listed at that price – are currently up 26% from one year ago.


In Graphs 4 and 5 we see that November’s dollar and unit sales, while down from May and August, were up 54% and 8% respectively from last November’s prior records. This means that November’s average sale price ($450,649) was actually up 47% from last November ($317,267) although this had more to do with the given homes sold than with overall market appreciation.

A Few More Numbers To Fill In The Picture
November’s market metrics also translate directly into the details of residential home sales by community (Graph 6) and by property type (Graph 7).
2016’s gains are mainly due to high-volume Wasaga Beach’s 21% increase and Grey Highlands’ big 30% uptick from its slow 2015 sales. Additionally, Clearview, The Blue Mountains, Meaford and Collingwood are up 25%, 16%, 14% and 6% respectively. Lastly, the entire region’s single- family homes sales for 2016 are up 24% from 2015, while condo sales are up 18% and vacant land sales are up a huge 43%.
The Takeaway
Georgian Triangle MLS sales for November – the 32nd straight record month – were up an astounding 54% from last year’s previous November record, and with 10% fewer listings on the market. That’s the biggest year-over-year monthly gain we’ve seen in 2016. Not only that but the YTD average sales price increase of 12% over this time last year is also the highest it’s been in 2016. And lastly, probably by the time most of you read this the Georgian Triangle’s annual MLS sales will have surpassed $1 Billion. Not too shabby given that at the beginning of the decade the region struggled to reach the $500 Million mark.
It seems that many people are discovering what longer-term residents have known all along: This is an amazing region with lots to offer – a great place to escape to and an even greater place to live. Moreover, the demographics driving all these home sales remain strong. So it’s a fantastic time to be a home seller here. If you have considered selling your home your chances of getting a great price in a timely manner are excellent.
