Property Sales Between $1 and $2 Million Are Up 88% in 2017

  Through the first nine months of 2017, MLS® unit sales overall across Southern Georgian Bay have actually decreased from one year ago with 12% fewer properties sold through the local MLS® system than in the same period last year.  The one exception to this is the upper end of the market where the sale of higher priced homes and condominiums is significantly higher this year resulting in an 8% increase in MLS® dollar volume.  MLS® dollar sales totals $876 million to the end of the 3rd Quarter and it’s all due to the sales of upper end homes and condominiums in the region which are those properties priced $750,000 and higher.

  Through the end of the 3rd Quarter, MLS® home and condominium sales priced $750,000 and higher are up 88% from this time last year with 196 sales reported this year compared to 104 in the first nine months of 2016.  The combined value of these 196 sales is just over $203 million, almost 21% of the total market. The real strength is in the $1 to $2 million segment which has doubled this year with 99 sales compared to 49 sales during the same period last year.  Not so many years ago, a $1 million property sale in our area caught your attention.  Now it's almost an every day occurrence and this trend is increasing as the number of luxury home and condominium properties valued at $1 to $2 million and higher grows annually.

  Not surprisingly the Blue Mountains is where the bulk of the higher end homes are located.  Year-to-date, 70 of the 196 sales (39%) reported above $750,000 are in the Blue Mountains close to area ski clubs, in the Thornbury area or west at Lora Bay. The Town of Collingwood is a distant second with 40 sales above $750,000 through the first nine months of the year.  By comparison in 2009 there were just two MLS® sales in Collingwood over $750,000 plus I sold an unlisted property in the town that year for just over $1 million.  Here we are eight years later and we are on track to do well over 50 MLS® sales in Collingwood this year above the $750,000 mark.  The main driver behind this trend is the growing influx of buyers coming from the Greater Toronto Area where they have sold their former residence for $1 million dollars or more and are retiring to Collingwood and the neighbouring municipalities.  How soon with this trend end?  I believe we are only in the early stages of this retirement migration and we have ten to twenty years of solid growth yet to come in this and all aspects of the local real estate market.

   As of this post there are 163 active MLS® listings in our market area priced $750,000 and higher.  This translates into about 7.5 months of inventory at the current rate of sales.  Understandably, the higher a property is priced the longer it will typically take to sell.  Buyers with $1 million dollars or more in their pocket are not as plentiful as in the lower price ranges.  Add to this the fact that upper end buyers are by their nature very discerning with specific tastes and the time to successfully market an expensive property to secure a worthy buyer goes up even more.

  It is not surprising that the Blue Mountains is not only home to the larger number of higher end sales but also the highest average sale price for properties in the upper price ranges.  Whether it is Osler Bluff, Craigleith, Alpine or Georgian Peaks,  buyers are willing to pay more to be closer to their private ski club and these clubs along with the Georgian Bay Club or Lora Bay golf courses tend to create the biggest draw in terms where affluent buyers are willing to make a significant real estate purchase. 

  Please feel free to Contact Me and I would be happy to share my  knowledge and experience of the Southern Georgian Bay luxury real estate market in order to assist you with making you the right choice for your buying and selling needs.  These properties are different from your run-of-the-mill homes as are buyer and seller market participants that deal in them that is why you need a qualified and knowledgeable REALTOR® to assist you in making qualified decisions.  

  A copy of this information is available to download by clicking here.

Home & Condo Sales Over $1 Million Nearly Triple in 2017

  As in many markets across Canada, real estate sales across the Southern Georgian Bay region in 2017 have been very robust with multiple offers and properties selling for over their asking prices the order of the day.  Nonetheless, MLS® unit sales which total 1,392 properties sold to the end of June and up a modest 1% over 2016.  MLS® dollar volume however is up 27%!  Why the disparity between MLS® unit and dollars results?  It's upper end home sales.

  For the first six months of 2017, residential home and condominium sales in our market valued at $750,000 and above total 139 properties.  This represents a 107% increase over the 67 properties sold in the first six months of 2016.  More significantly sales over $1 million in the first six months of this year are essentially triple that of one year ago.  Through the end of June there have been 74 sales over $1 million compared to just 26 sales in the same period last year.  In addition to this impressive increase in the number of resale properties sold through the MLS® valued above $750,000 there is also a significant number of new builds in areas such as Nipissing Ridge at Blue Mountain, Lora Bay west of Thornbury and elsewhere many of which are well over the $750,000 mark not including the land.

  The municipality of the Blue Mountains continues to be the dominant location for upper end residential properties.  Many of the buyers for expensive homes and chalets in the area are members of the private ski clubs and it is often their desire to be located close to their respective clubs.  Of the 139 MLS® sales year-to-date over $750,000, 55 of those (40%) are in the Blue Mountains.  The average sale price of these 55 properties is just over $1.2 million.

  The Town of Collingwood  comes in second in terms of the number of upper end homes sales year-to-date with 28 sales so far this year compared to just 10 in 2016, an increase of 180%.  To illustrate just how much our market has changed, in 2009 there were just two MLS® sales in Collingwood over $750,000, in 2016 there were a total of 32 and this year we are on track to see upwards of 60. 

  Upper end home and condo sales in the remaining municipalities throughout our region year-to-date round out as follows:  Clearview Township 27 sales up 69%, Wasaga Beach 12 sales up 50%, Grey Highlands 11 sales up 83% and the Municipality of Meaford 5 sales up 67% from one year ago.  

  It will be interesting to watch this segment of the market through the balance of 2017.  As of June we have already seen the overall market slow down from the frantic pace of sales we experienced in the first five months of this year.  Unlike the overall market where the number of new MLS® listings is down 16% year-to-date which is suppressing sales somewhat, there remains a significant supply of listings on our MLS® system over $750,000.  As of this posting there are currently 173 homes and condominiums listed for sale over $750,000 which represents a 7.5 month supply based on the current pace of sales.

  In my next post I will discuss upper end property pricing throughout the various municipalities in our region.  As with real estate overall, locations plays a key role relative to pricing and the luxury, upper end segment of the market is no different. 

  For a confidential no obligation consultation of your luxury home/condominium selling or buying objectives, please do not hesitate to Contact Me.

High End Home & Condo Sales Up 73% in 1st Quarter

  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.

Are Canadians In Need of Panic Rooms Yet?

According to an article featured by an organization I am a member of, the  Institute of Luxury Home Marketing, panic rooms are becoming increasingly popular with affluent home buyers.  That begs the question are we ready or in need of such a household amenity here in Canada?

  There is no question that in many parts of the world, celebrities, politicians, senior executives and others are at risk from terrorists, or just run of the mill burglars and kidnappers looking to make a quick buck.  We've all seen movies attesting to this and Jodi Foster in the movie Panic Room is probably the best example.  Canada has always been regarded as a safe haven but how long will it be until we start to see our fair share of lunatics such as the gunman in Ottawa a couple of years back.  We are also seeing a greater influx of offshore buyers for Canadian real estate.  Many of these buyers are coming from parts of the world where crime is more prevalent so security may be more of priority with them when it comes to their place of residence.

 Today panic rooms may be nothing more than something to brag about at cocktail parties but I am sure they will become more prevalent in larger Canadian cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in the years ahead.  Unfortunately the age of innocence as depicted in television shows such Leave It To Beaver (I am dating myself) is over.  Even in the southern Georgina Bay regions we are seeing more and more homes with elaborate alarm systems and web based camera monitoring both inside and out.

Read the full article on panic rooms as featured in Architectural Digest magazine.

Upper End Home Sales Off to a Robust Start in 2017

  As covered in my regular blog, real estate activity across Southern Georgian Bay has gotten off to a very strong start for 2017 despite the ongoing lack of inventory and the upper end luxury home and condominium market is no exception.

 MLS® unit sales of residential properties priced $750,000 and higher are up 73% for the first two months of 2017.  Through the end of February there have been 33 MLS® sales reported by the Southern Georgian Bay Association of REALTORS® (SGBAR) compared to just 19 sales in the first two months of 2016 at 73% increase.  What is perhaps of even greater significance is the fact that these 33 sales represent over 30% of the total MLS® dollar volume in the area for the first two months of the year.  The strong sales of higher priced properties is really serving to prop up MLS® dollar sales stemming from lagging sales due to low inventory in the lower price points.


  The Blue Mountains remains the stronghold for upper tier home sales in the area with 16 sales to date representing close to 50% of the market.  As I have stated before, Buyers in this segment are often private ski and or golf club members who prefer to be located near to their respective clubs. Collingwood and Clearview Township come in tied for second place with 7 sales above $750,000 in each of these two municipalities for the first two months of the year.

Selling a higher priced upper tier property in our market has typically been a long process and in the past it has not been uncommon to have two years or more inventory listed for sale priced above $750,000.  At the start of 2017 there were 134 properties listed for sale on our local MLS® system priced over the $750,000 mark which represented 9.9 months worth of inventory.  Currently that inventory has risen to 138 active listings as of this posting however based on the strong sales activity we have seen in the first two months of the year, the inventory supply number has dropped to 8.4 months.   Buyers in the upper end price ranges often prefer to build exactly what they want provided there is available land to do so.  The availability of vacant lots has not been an issue in recent years but we have seen a real run on vacant land sales over the past few months particular in the Blue Mountains in fully serviced subdivisions such as Nipissing Ridge 3 and Lendway Valley.

  Selling an upper end home in a market with abundant inventory takes more than placing a sign on the lawn and listing the property on MLS® and it starts with the appropriate pricing in order to drive showing activity and a potential Buyer.  As a Market Value Appraiser and Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist I can assist you in establishing a pricing and marketing strategy that will generate results.  Whether buying or selling, Contact Me for a no obligation and confidential discussion about your specific real estate needs or goals.
 

Upper Tier Luxury Home and Condo Sales Increase 54% in 2016

  The sale of upper tier homes and condominiums in the southern Georgian Bay area continues to be an increasingly significant segment of the local real estate market.  MLS® sales in this niche were up 54% in 2016 having a profound effect on total MLS® dollar sales.  For the purpose of defining luxury or upper end real estate, we consider anything priced over $750,000 as properties in this value range represent approximately the top 10% of the local market.

  A total of 162 sales were reported over $750,000 during 2016 on the MLS® system of the Southern Georgian Bay Association of REALTORS (SGBAR).   Total dollar sales in this segment were $187.4 million which represents 18% of all MLS® sales in the region for 2016.   It is important to note that this does not include any private sales, or sales made directly by builders and others that did not go through the MLS® system.

The Blue Mountains continues to lead other area municipalities by almost 50% with respect to the number of annual upper end home and condominium sales.  A total of 60 properties sold in the Blue Mountains last year with prices ranging from $751,000 for a property in Thornbury to a $3.945 million waterfront estate near Georgian Peaks. MLS® residential sales in the Blue Mountains for these 60 properties totalled just under $76 million which is 37% of the total region's upper end market during 2016 both in terms of units sold and dollar volume.  Buyers for these properties are often members of the area's private ski and golf clubs and these Buyers have a strong desire to be close to their respective clubs in developments such as Nipissing Ridge, Lora Bay, Windrose Estates and others.  The Blue Mountains is also home to some of the area's finest waterfront properties.

  Not so many years ago, it was hard to find a house priced above $750,000 in Collingwood.  In 2009 I sold a non-listed home for $1.1 million.  That same year there was only one MLS® sale in Collingwood of a residential property over $750,000.  Times have changed as in 2016 there were 31 sales in the municipality placing Collingwood in the number two position in terms of unit MLS® sales for high end properties in the region.  Sales prices ranged from $749,000 for a new home at the south end of Town to $2.33 million for a waterfront home in Princeton Shores.  These 31 MLS® sales totalled $29.8 million and amounted to 19% of the region's upper end market.  Of the seven municipalities covered in my analysis, Collingwood ranks 5th in average price for upper end homes sales with an average selling price for 2016 of $960,000.

  During 2016, Clearview Township came in third in terms of the number of MLS® listings sold with 29 residential sales ranging from $760,000 to $2.9 million.  Many of these sales were properties with larger acreages and highly sought after views of the surrounding countryside and or Georgian Bay.  Although Clearview Township trails the Blue Mountains by over 50% in terms of the number of high end properties sold, Clearview is home to the highest average sale price in the upper tier market segment at $1.328 million which is primarily due to the larger property sizes associated with these homes.

  The remaining municipalities of Grey Highlands, Meaford, Mulmur and Wasaga Beach each have their own share of higher priced residential properties and combined they accounted for a total of 42 MLS® sales in 2016, 26% of the overall market with a combined sales value of $42.3 million.  These areas continue to grow in stature in terms of being desirable locations for more expensive residential properties and this trend will no doubt continue. For the foreseeable future however they will continue to play a smaller, less significant role in the rapidly growing demand for higher end homes and condominiums than we are experiencing in areas like the Blue Mountains and Collingwood stemming from vast array of recreational, cultural and other amenities that these municipalities offer.

  As of this posting there are 134 active listings on the MLS® system of SGBAR which represents almost 10 months of available inventory based on the current annual rate of sales.  Sales in this segment of the market naturally take longer, require added marketing emphasis and can not be treated the same as the sale of a run-of-the mill property typically found in  large subdivisions.  More on this in future posts.

 If you are looking to list your current high end luxury home/condo or are contemplating the purchase of a special property, please feel free to Contact Me for a confidential discussion of your particular real estate needs and objectives and put my expertise to work for you.