August real-estate sales up

CKRBResidential sales activity recorded through the MLS system of the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors came in well above levels from a year earlier in August 2014.

Home sales numbered 136 units in August 2014, jumping 42 per cent on a year-over-year basis. “August sales were historically very strong,” said Ron Smith, President of the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors. “It was the strongest sales figure for any month in more than three years. It was also the best month of August since 2007, and was tied with 2004 for the second best ever.”

The average price of homes sold in August 2014 was a record $158,751, down 4.8 per cent from August 2013. It should be noted this is largely a reflection of a temporary jump in the average selling price last August. The year-to-date average sale price was $154,631, up 2.5 per cent from 2013.
New listings numbered 217 units in August, up 32 per cent from the same month last year. The size of the increase reflects the combination of rising new listings now and very low levels of new listings one year ago.

There were 705 active residential listings on the association’s MLS system at the end of August 2014. This was up nine per cent from August of 2013.
There were 5.2 months of inventory at the end of August 2014, down from 6.8 months a year earlier and below the long-run average for this time of the year. 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.