The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 1258 property sales processed through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) system in October. This represents a 4.5 per cent increase in sales compared to October of last year.
There were 1821 properties listed in October, an increase of 4.4 per cent over the same month last year. End-of-month listing inventory was 9.5 per cent lower than last year at the same time.
“October was another strong month for real estate activity in the RAHB market area,” said RAHB CEO Ross Godsoe. “Listings and sales are both well above average and are the highest they’ve been in October since the most recent recession.”
Seasonally adjusted* sales of residential properties were 6.3 per cent higher than the same month last year, with the average sale price up 8.5 per cent for the month. Seasonally adjusted numbers of new listings were 6.8 per cent higher than the same month last year.
Seasonally adjusted data for residential properties for the month of October, 2014:
Actual overall residential sales were 4.6 per cent higher than the previous year at the same time. Residential freehold sales were 4.6 per cent higher than last year while sales in the condominium market saw an increase of 4.7 per cent.
“The challenge in a sustained strong market is affordability,” said Godsoe. “That may be why more buyers have been attracted to the condominium market over the last few months.”
The average price of freehold properties showed an increase of 10.6 per cent compared to the same month last year; the average sale price in the condominium market increased 2.5 per cent when compared to the same period last year.
The average sale price is based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold in the RAHB market area. Average sale price information can be useful in establishing long term trends, but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value.
The average days on the market decreased from 42 to 41 days in the freehold market and decreased from 47 to 38 days in the condominium market when compared to the same month last year.
Year to date, listings are 2.2 per cent higher than the same January-to-October period a year ago. Sales are 6.1 per cent higher and the average sale price is 5.6 per cent higher for the period.
