The tide has turned on home sales in Georgian Bay region with a 24 per cent increase in the number of units sold last month compared to the same time last year.
Lakelands Association of Realtors noted the increase via MLS data, confirming 318 non-waterfront homes were sold in the Lakelands district in February 2024, which is 24.3 per cent more than were sold in February 2023.
Sales for January and February combined for 516 homes sold in the first two months of 2024, which is an 11 per cent increase compared to the first two months of 2023.
Waterfront sales are also up by 57 per cent last month compared to last year, with 44 units sold in February 2024.
Overall, non-waterfront sales are still below the five- and ten-year averages for the month by 16 per cent and 11.6 per cent respectively, reports the Realtor's association.
"Sales of both waterfront and non-waterfront homes rebounded from their lows last February, posting double-digit year-over-year gains of more than 20 percent," said Bonnie Looby, president of the Lakelands Association of Realtors, in a news release. "We’re seeing two different pricing trends in the market right now, with a softer pricing environment for the non-waterfront segment while prices for waterfront homes continue their steady rise that began in the fall of 2022. There’s still an ample supply of homes in both segments, although with the significant rise in sales activity in February the market has been lifted back into balanced territory."
The Lakelands region covers three areas around Georgian Bay.
In Lakelands Central, including Midland, Orillia, Oro-Medonte, Penetanguishene, Ramara, Springwater, Tay and Tiny, there were 133 non-waterfront homes sold in February, 2024, a 24 per cent increase from the 107 sold in February, 2023.
The median, non-waterfront sale price in the central part of the region was $629,000.
Lakelands West, including The Blue Mountains, Clearview, Collingwood, Grey Highlands, Meaford, and Wasaga Beach, saw a 12.2 per cent increase in non-waterfront sales in February 2024 (110 homes sold) compared to February 2023 (98 homes sold).
Waterfront sales in the west increased by 80 per cent, but that's only nine homes sold last month compared to five sold in February 2023.
In Lakelands North, (Parry Sound, Muskoka, Minden, Severn, Dysart et al, The Archipelago, and Algonquin Highlands) there were 75 non-waterfront homes sold last month, up 47 per cent compared to 51 sold in February, 2023. The median sale price in the north for non-waterfront properties was $590,000.
Waterfront sales in the north totalled 23 homes with a median price of $1,051,500.
Median prices in the west decreased the most in the region with a median sale price around $665,000 last month compared to $754,500 in 2023.
The MLS home price index, which is a price trend calculation that estimates what a home would sell for in the region, indicates the composite benchmark price for homes sold in the Lakelands region was about $654,400 in February 2024, which is down 4.4 per cent compared to February 2023.
The benchmark price for single-family homes was $678,000, a decrease of 4.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis in February. By comparison, the benchmark price for townhouse/row units was $559,500, a moderate decrease of 4.9 per cent compared to a year earlier, while the benchmark apartment price was $446,700, falling by 2.2 per cent from year-ago levels.
The total dollar value of all residential non-waterfront sales in February 2024 in the Laklands was $224.4 million, an increase of 12.3 per cent from the same month in 2023.
The total dollar value of all waterfront sales in February 2024 was $50.2 million, a jump of 77.4 per cent from the same month in 2023.
