Brantford Real Estate Update

Sales activity continues to cool in July

Home sales recorded through the MLS System of the Brantford Regional Real Estate Association were down in July 2010 from the near-record levels reported in the same month last year. A slowdown in demand in Ontario had been widely expected in July, with many purchases having been brought forward into the first half of the year in advance of the introduction of the HST.

According to statistics provided by the Association, residential sales totalled 172 units in July 2010. This stands 17 per cent below levels in July 2009, when activity came close to setting a record for the month. Some 1,317 homes have traded hands in the first seven months of 2010. This remains 15 per cent above levels reported in the same period last year.

The introduction of the HST was the last in a string of temporary factors that have resulted in considerable volatility in the market over the past two years, said Daniel Marchuk, President of the Brantford Regional Real Estate Association. Sales have come down markedly from record levels at the beginning of the year, but with these temporary factors now largely in the rear-view mirror, were looking forward to a more stable marketplace going forward.

The average price of homes sold in July was $226,279. This was down four per cent from July 2009, when the average price shot to, what was at the time, the highest level ever. For the year-to-date, the average residential price was $228,947, up five per cent from the first seven months of 2009.

The dollar value of all home sales in July 2010 totalled $38.9 million, down 21 per cent from the same month in 2009.

Total sales activity in Brantford numbered 177 units in July 2010, falling 17 per cent on a year-over-year basis. The total value of all sales activity amounted to $41 million, 18 per cent below levels reported in July 2009.

Supply is already adjusting to softer demand. New residential listings on the Association's MLS System edged down one per cent from year-ago levels to 296 units in July. This was the first year-over-year decline since last October. There were 837 active residential listings on the Association's MLS System at the end of July, up two per cent from the same month in 2009.

There were 4.9 months of inventory at the end of July 2010, up from four months a year earlier. 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.