Annual residential sales activity in the area served by the Barrie District Association of REALTORS® Inc. was up in 2009 from 2008 levels, bolstered by a stronger performance in the second half of the year, particularly in the fourth quarter.

According to statistics provided by the Association, home sales recorded through the MLS® System totalled 207 units in December 2009, 56 per cent above levels in the same month in 2008. This is the seventh consecutive year-over-year increase.

Despite small increases in the second and third quarters of the year, year-to-date activity had been trailing 2008 levels until September. However, the fourth quarter of 2009 was the strongest on record. As a result, annual sales in 2009 surpassed levels reported in 2008. Activity totalled 4,326 units in 2009, up seven per cent from the previous year.

“The last half of 2009 saw a significant recovery in the resale market,” said Elizabeth Wilson, President of the Barrie and District Association of REALTORS®. “The strong sales momentum seen at the end of 2009 is likely to carry forward into the New Year.”

The total dollar value of all home sales amounted to $54.2 million in December 2009, rising 49 per cent from levels reported one year ago. The annual dollar volume of home sales recorded through the Association’s MLS® System was $1.1 billion, an increase of seven per cent from 2008.

Total sales activity in the Barrie region numbered 213 units in December, up 58 per cent year-over-year. The total value of all properties sold in December 2009 was $55.4 million, an increase of 50 per cent from December 2008.

The average price for homes sold via the Association’s MLS® System in 2009 was $263,959. This is virtually unchanged from the average price of $264,034 in 2008.

New residential listings numbered 266 units in December 2009, down three per cent year-over-year. This is the ninth consecutive month in which new listings have declined from year-ago levels.

The number of active residential listings on the Association’s MLS® System dropped 26 per cent from a year earlier to 1,043 units at the end of December 2009. This is the eighth consecutive month in which active listings have declined from the peak levels of 2008. The last three declines have all been in excess of 25 per cent.

There were five months of inventory at the end of December 2009, well below levels recorded one year earlier (10.6 months). 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 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. The Association provides continuing education, Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), statistical information, and many other services to its members.

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.