GUELPH – MLS® home sales activity in the area served by the Guelph and District Association of Realtors rose to the highest level for the month of September on record.
Together with a decline in new listings, inventories are being drawn down further.
According to the association’s statistics, multiple listing service home sales numbered 247 units.
Jumping 14 per cent above last year levels, September marked the second consecutive month in which activity posted a double-digit percentage increase compared to the same month in 2008.
Seasonally adjusted sales activity in September was up two per cent from August (seasonal adjustment removes normal seasonal fluctuations), to stand 40 per cent above the low reached last February.
“September was another strong month for sales,” said Doug Stoneman, President of the Guelph and District Association of Realtors. “Improving demand and fewer new listings continue to draw down supply, firm up the market, and stabilize prices.”
The total dollar value of such home sales rose 16 per cent year-over-year in September, reaching $66.2-million. That is a new high watermark for September.
Total sales numbered 259 units in September, up 15 per cent from that months in 2008. The total value of all MLS properties sold in September 2009 amounted to $69.5-million, an increase of 20 per cent from a year earlier.
The MLS residential average price was $267,830 in September 2009. That is two per cent above the average price from the same month last year, and the second highest average price on record for the month of September.
New residential listings numbered 379 units in September 2009, down nine per cent from year-ago levels.
This is the sixth consecutive month in which the number of new listings declined. Continuing to retreat from elevated levels last spring, active listings were also down from year ago levels for the fourth consecutive month in September (-17.7 per cent). Active residential listings on the association’s MLS system numbered 675 units at the end of September 2009.
The number of months of inventory stood at 2.7 months in September, down from 3.8 months last September and well below levels recorded for most other months over the past year. 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.
The Guelph and District Association of Realtors represents more than 430 realtors in Guelph and surrounding communities like Fergus and Elora.
Additional information can be found on the board’s web site at www.guelphanddistrictrealtors.ca.
