Overall, this year's pace is significantly ahead of recent years
By
Mark Schadenberg
There
are so many bellwether statistics in real estate – re-sale homes, new housing
starts, tracking building permit numbers, analyzing new listings, and watching new furniture flow out
of a box-mall store.
In
the Woodstock-Ingersoll area, housing sales continue to flourish, but July
marked a lower report than July of 2015.
One
could say that there are not enough houses on the market (inventory) to satisfy
the demand, so many house hunters simply did not find a home in July.
WIDREB
reported sales were 131, which marked about a 15% decrease over the seventh
month of 2015.
The
average price of a home went over the $300,000 barrier for the first time ever
to $301,830 or an increase of about 23% in just one calendar year, but when all
the sales of 2016 were factored in the increase is still a remarkable 14.4%.
New
listings in July marked the lowest number in more than a decade, noted the
WIDREB monthly press release, which is included in this blog.
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WIDREB press release:
New listings declined nine per cent year-over-year to 132 units in July
2016. This was the lowest level of new supply for the month of July in more
than a decade.
Active supply is trending at
record lows. There were just 249 active residential listings on the Board’s
MLS® System at the end of July 2016, down 38.2 per cent from levels at the end
of July 2015.
There were just 1.9 months of inventory at the end of
July 2016, down from 2.6 months at the end of July 2015 and a record low for
this time of 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.
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As
a Realtor for the past 17 years, it is frustrating to represent buyers who are
unable to find a home because they are competing with other buyers. A couple
years ago, multiple offers were rare unless a home was listed under market
value for a quick sale. Now, the idea of having more than one offer on a house
is very common.
As
I have stated previously, if you plan on moving or have a house to sell, now is
the time to be on the market.
The
process or trend has seen Toronto-area people want to move to Woodstock.
However,
the most logical analogy has GTA residents seeking homes in the Guelph area,
while people from Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge are moving west along the
401 to Woodstock to find affordable subdivisions.
The
last 13 July reports in WIDREB are as follows:
2016:
134 2015: 161 2014: 123 2013: 120
2012:
95 2011:
92 2010:
87 2009:
109
2008:
112 2007:
118 2006:
103 2005: 154
2004:
110
As
you can see, maybe 2015 was part of an anomaly as last year even topped the
extremely busy 2005 in total sales.
For
the first 7 months of the year, 2016 is out-pacing every year in recent times.
Here’s a look:
2016:
932 2015: 876 2014: 707 2013: 767
2012:
653 2011: 706 2010: 784 2009: 611
2008:
745
One
final reminder of note is that these numbers do not include non-MLS sales, such
as new construction at Havelock Corners by Senator Homes as those properties
are not on the Multiple Listing Service or www.realtor.ca
LONDON
AREA
In
London numbers, which includes Middlesex County and then south into Elgin County to
also include St. Thomas, the reported total of new home starts is rising.
CMHC
(Canadian Mortgage & Housing Corporation) tracks the totals and the
compilation of single-family homes and multi-family apartments has been
calculated for July and the first 6 months of 2016. It’s hard to believe, but
784 single-family homes have been under construction in the first 7 months of
this year – for an increase of 42% over one year ago.
Read
the London Free Press link below which comments that even in London the hot
sales totals are driven – according to their home builders association
president – by the fact a detached home in Toronto now sells for $1.2 million
on average.
In
July, 138 new homes started construction, versus 93 last year in July.
An
analyst with CMHC told the Free Press that multi-family apartment building starts
is also much higher in 2016.
As
for real estate sales, the LSTAR board reports 990 transaction in July, which
is just short of their all-time July record of 1,009 in 2007.
Long-time
LFP reporter Hank Daniszewski, who has roots in Woodstock, compiled a story
depicting that inventory of listings is down by about 28% over one year, which
translates quickly into low supply and high demand, and therefore a sellers’
market.
On
the industrial side, London is growing with an extension of Veterans Memorial
Parkway south of the 401 by about 800 metres. The Dr Oetker food factory on
Veterans Memorial is easily visible from the 401.
LINKS:
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