As with the local real estate market overall, luxury, upper end home and condominium sales have been very robust in the first quarter of 2017. MLS® sales of properties valued over $750,000 are up 73% during the first three months of this year compared to the first quarter of 2016.
Sales reported through the MLS® system of the Southern Georgian Bay Association of REALTORS (SGBAR) for the first quarter total 52 properties valued at $750,000 and higher compared to 30 sales in the first quarter of 2016. The total value of these 52 sales is $55.6 million compared to $35.2 million in ales last year during the same quarter an increase of 58%. Despite the significant increase in sales, inventory levels of properties over $750,000 have increased. As of this post there are 150 active MLS® listings for properties priced above $750,000 up from 138 listings at the start of the year. The total value of these listed properties is $214.4 million.
The Blue Mountains remains the major area where the bulk of higher end homes and condominiums are sold. 1st Quarter MLS® sales in the Blue Mountains totals 24 units with a combined value of $29.5 million. These 24 sales in the Blue Mountains represent 46% all all higher end property sales in our market for the first quarter of 2017 followed by Clearview Township with 13 sales totalling $13.6 million. 1st quarter MLS sales in Collingwood amounted to 6 properties with 5 in Grey Highlands and 4 sales in Wasaga Beach. No sales above $750,000 in either the Municipality of Meaford or Mulmur Township were reported during the first quarter.
As previously mentioned the inventory of higher priced homes and condominiums is on the rise and I suspect we will see this trend continue. Why? Over the past year or so we have seen a dramatic increase in vacant lot sales most of these in the Blue Mountains. Buyers of higher priced homes and condominiums in the area are often private ski club members with a desire to be close to their respective club. Of the 96 vacant lots sold through MLS® in the 1st quarter, 58 of those (60%) were in the Blue Mountains. Building versus buying a resale home looks very attractive to many affluent Buyers allowing them to build exactly what they want. This might help to explain why the inventory level of properties over $750,000 is on the rise. I will be watching these statistics closely over the next several months and will report regularly as to what is happening.
