Collingwood, ON

The local real estate market followed national trends by posting the lowest number of monthly sales in over a decade. The 46 sales reported in the Georgian Triangle last month represents a drop of 59% over January, 2008 and is lower than December 2008's 53 sales.

One interesting and slightly surprising trend is that, for the first time since March, 2008, the number of new listings for the month was lower than in the previous year. For the fourth month in a row, there was a tiny uptick in consumer confidence being reported and, the North American governments have both passed stimulus budgets this month. Could it be that potential sellers are hanging on expecting some improvements this spring?

The following information was obtained from the MLS® statistics provided by the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board. The first number is for January 2009 with January 2008 results in brackets:

Total Number of Sales in all areas reported: 46 (111)
Total # of Listings in all areas reported: 437 (454 )
# Active Listings as of January 31: 1714

Single Family Residential Only
(Data is limited to Collingwood, Clearview, Grey Highlands, Meaford, Blue Mountains and Wasaga Beach areas only):

# of Sales: 25 (69 )
Average Sale Price: $290,483 ($312,779 )
Sales-to-Listings Ratio: 12% (33% )
# Condo Sales: 8 (19 )
# Farms Sold: 1
# Vacant Land Sold: 0
# Commercial Sold: 0

In a nutshell: It's a tough time to sell but it's a great time to buy. Limited competition, lots of choice, a buyers market and most of all - low interest rates!

Although it's now February, people are still asking about prices in our various neighbourhoods in the Georgian Triangle. So, in the spirit of wrapping up the 2008 statistics, here is a chart showing the change in the average sale prices between 2007 and 2008 by area:

Please do remember that average sale prices can be skewed significantly by a few really high or low sales so they are not necessarily a fair representation of prices however, they do show the general trends by area.

Interestingly but not surprisingly, both Collingwood and Wasaga Beach registered an increase in values; even when I tried eliminating sales under $100,000 and over $1 million. More rural areas such as Grey Highlands and Clearview showed the greatest declines.

Right now, we sure are seeing buyers being very reluctant to jump in despite great prices and mortgage rates. Consumer confidence is not high but I have noticed a real uptick in showing activity of late.

We interrupt his blog to bring you a little shameless self-promotion.

First, let us say that we love most of our fellow REALTORS® around here. They are a good bunch. But this is not about them (sorry guys and gals).

For a few years now, we've been working hard to keep you in-the-know about everything to do with Collingwood and Blue Mountain real estate or otherwise. We've gone on ad nauseam about why you should use a REALTOR®.

Now, we present to you more reasons why you should use us, Marg and Chris, as your REALTORS® of choice in the Collingwood and Blue Mountain area.

1. Professionally speaking, we have more than 35 years of real estate business experience under our stylish, but tasteful belts.

2. We're not one-trick ponies: we've both enjoyed other careers in social work, banking, exporting, manufacturing, investments, administration and health.

3. We do our homework: we read, we listen, we absorb, we go to class, we research and we share. Oh, and we save everything!

4. We've been through recessions, downturns, being laid off or having quit; been turned down, and we've been approved; we've seen success, and worried about failure, invested and lost, and invested and won!

5. We google, oodle, twitter, blog, text, feed and kijiji. Can you digg it?

6. We're chatty in many languages: English, German, a little French, a little Spanish, pig-Latin and lots of Real-Estate-Lingo are spoken in our office.

7. We've lived to tell the tale... between us, we've lived through marriage, separation, divorce, being single; being a Mom, a Dad, a sister, an aunt and a cousin, being gifted, acting stupid; being jilted, being broke, sending kids to college and university; losing parents and close family members, losing on the stock market, having accidents in cars and in our pants, being embarrassed and being proud, yelled too much, yelled too little, praised when we shouldn't have, gained weight, lost weight, survived heart attacks and breast surgery and loved with all of our hearts (which are located deep inside our bodies.)

What we're trying to say is, we've been through a lot between the two of us, so we can commiserate, empathize, sympathize and help, whenever you need our advice or expertise. No matter what the event, it's very likely that we've been there too, so you don't have to feel alone when you're dealing with life's ups and downs.

Nuff said.

When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!

Since I am based in Collingwood, I track data for Collingwood, Blue Mountain and Thornbury. I also track sales in sales in Georgian Meadows, a new home development of about 400 homes in Collingwood.

Further to my last post I invite you to look at the graphs I have made for total number of residential units sold by month for 2007 and 2008 1) all of the Georgian Triangle 2) Collingwood only 3) Thornbury/Blue Mountain only. I update my stats every month. Visit my site www.livingincollingwood.com

The past two years have been strong in terms of number of residential units sold in the Georgian Triangle. That trend continued until October 2007, with November and December showing even lower numbers.

What does that mean for our market? Now is the time to make an investment in Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Thornbury. Prices and interest rates are low and inventory high. It is truly a buyer's market. Many buyers are holding off, waiting for prices to decrease even more. Although we cannot gaurantee that prices will or will not decrease in the coming months, the opportunity for finding your dream home at an excellent price has never been better. Buyers holding out risk the disappointment of having little choice when the time comes to put in an offer. In summary, I urge my buyers to get out there and make an offer. One thing rings true - with the stock markets being so unpredictable, an investment in real estate offers more opportunity for growth.

Once this downward trend is behind us, Collingwood and Blue Mountain is forecast to experience another growth, as babyboomers retire in Canada's prime four season recreational destination. Already, many couples nearing retirement age are buying up property to use for the time being as a second home for family leisure time, with the plan to sell their city home and move to the area permanently upon retirement. With that in mind, the current market offers an exceptional opportunity to buy a second home now while the prices are low, and sell the family home later in an upward market.

Sellers, on the other hand, need to be aware of what is happening in the area and more specifically in their own neighbourhood. Pricing is critical and this is not the time to "try" a high price. For those who need to sell, a well researched CMA should be your guide to set price. Staging and finishing the "to do" repair list, is also critical, as with so much selection, buyers will naturally go with the home that is well presented and well priced. With the economy in flux, buyers are not as prepared to invest money after the purchase and are looking for move-in ready homes. Sellers also need to know that even the best priced homes are taking longer to sell - 90 to 120 days, so if you are thinking of a move this summer, now is the time to list!