Guelph Home Sales moderate in February

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Guelph and District Association of REALTORS® retreated in February following a near-record setting performance in January, and also came in below the all-time record for February sales in 2012.

According to statistics provided by the Association, home sales numbered 213 units in February 2013. This was a year-over-year decrease of 23 per cent.

Sales of all types of properties in the Guelph region numbered 225 units in February, down 22 per cent from year-ago levels.

“Over the past six months, home sales in the region have consistently turned in one better than expected monthly performance followed by a slowdown followed by another better than expected showing, and that trend continued to play out with demand quieting back down in February following a very strong month of January,” said Matthew Bennett-Monty, President of the Guelph and District Association of REALTORS®. “Having said that, when it comes gauging the extent of the slowdown in February, it’s important to recall that February 2012 shattered the previous sales record for the month, so that 23 per cent year-over-year decline is as much a story about last year as it is about the market right now.”

The average price of homes sold in February was $336,053, up three per cent from February 2012.

The dollar value of all homes sold through the MLS® System of the Guelph and District Association of REALTORS® totalled $71.6 million in February 2013. This was down 20 per cent from levels recorded in February 2012. The total value of all properties sold in February 2012 was $74 million, also down 20 per cent on a year-over-year basis.

New residential listings numbered 354 units in February, down 14 per cent on a year-over-year basis.

There were 601 active residential listings on the Association’s MLS® System at the end of February 2013, rising nine per cent from a year earlier.

There were 2.8 months of inventory at the end of February 2013, up from 2.0 months at the same time last year but still well below the long-run average for the Guelph region. 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.