Home
sales activity in the area served by the Kingston & Area
Real Estate Association was up significantly from year-ago
levels in December.
According
to statistics provided by the Association, homes sold through
the MLS® System numbered 171 units in December, up 46 per cent
from the same month in 2008. This is the second highest level
on record for sales in the month of December, just three units
below the peak in 2004.
Sales
activity climbed considerably towards the end of 2009, but the
strong fourth quarter was not enough to offset a weak
beginning to the year. As a result, annual sales activity
declined three per cent to 3,377 units in
2009.
“Demand
continued to improve right up until the end of the year,” said
Sue Tallen, President of the Kingston
& Area Real Estate Association. “Activity
was held
down in the first half of the year, so 2009 did not outperform
2008. However, we’re looking forward to stronger demand, and a
more stable marketplace in the new year.”
The
value of all home sales was $40.5 million in December 2009, an
increase of 52 per cent on a year-over-year basis. Annually,
the total dollar volume for all homes sold in 2009 was $819.7
million, edging up four-tenths of one per cent from
2008.
Total
sales numbered 182 units in December, rising 37 per cent from
year-ago levels. The value of all property sales totalled
$41.6 million, also up 37 per cent from a year
earlier.
The
average home price rose four per cent from year-ago levels to
$236,629 in December 2009. This is the highest level on record
for the month of December. Annually, the average price of all
homes sales in 2009 was $242,729. This is the highest annual
average price on record, up three per cent from
2008.
New
listings on the Association’s MLS® System declined from
year-ago levels for the ninth consecutive month. New
residential listings numbered 197 units in December 2009, down
three per cent year-over-year.
The
combination of strong demand and fewer new listings continues
to draw down the overall supply of homes for sale on the
market. Active residential listings on the Association’s MLS®
System numbered 887 units at the end of December 2009, down 19
per cent from a year earlier. This is the 12th
consecutive decrease from year-ago levels, and the eighth
double-digit decline in as many months.
There
were 5.2 months of inventory at the end of December, well
below levels from one year ago (9.3 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.
Incorporated
over 50 years ago as a not-for-profit organization, the
Kingston & Area Real Estate Association (KAREA) represents
approximately 460 licensed real estate professionals who are
also members of The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA)
and the Ontario Real Estate Association
(OREA).
