Residential sales activity in the area served by
the Kingston & Area Real Estate Association was down in
June 2010 from the record for the month set last
year.
According to statistics provided by the
Association, home sales numbered 390 units in June 2010, down
13 per cent from the record month of June in 2009. The decline
was focused among properties priced between $150,000 and
$250,000, where sales were down 29 per cent on a
year-over-year basis. Meanwhile, activity priced from $250,000
to $500,000 was up nine per cent.
“Stricter mortgage rules that took effect in April
pushed many first-time buyers into the market earlier this
year, and we’re seeing that reflected in a decline in demand
for lower-priced properties now,” said Sue Tallen, President
of the Kingston & Area Real Estate Association. “As such,
some of the current strength in the average price figure is
simply a story of fewer sales in the lower-priced end of the
market, while activity among higher price properties continues
to run strong.”
The average price for homes sold through the
Association’s MLS® System in June was $262,368, up six per
cent from year-ago levels. This is the second highest average
price on record, standing just $69 below the record set in
April 2010.
The value of all home sales was $102.3 million in
June 2010, a decrease of eight per cent from the same month in
2009.
Total sales numbered 434 units in June. This is
down 12 per cent from year-ago levels. The value of all
property sales totalled $112.8 million, a decrease of six per
cent year-over-year.
New listings on the Association’s MLS® System
numbered 583 units in June 2010, down 13 per cent from June
2009. There were 1,545 active residential listings on the
Association’s MLS® System at the end of June. This remains
eight per cent below levels from a year earlier.
There were four months of inventory at the end of
June, up slightly from 3.7 months in June 2009. 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 over 500 real estate professionals who are
also members of The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA)
and the Ontario Real Estate Association
(OREA).
