2018 Year in Review – First Quarter

1ST QUARTER IN REVIEW

We continue to focus where we specialize – residential single-family homes and condos in the WESTERN DISTRICT of Southern Georgian Bay. In particular, The Blue Mountains, Collingwood and the areas of Clearview near Collingwood and Blue. It would appear that lack of inventory, and thus relatively high prices, combined with the new lending formulas are having their effect here, as they are in the GTA.

Condos sold at about 98.6% of their asking price and averaged 45 days to sell, practically no change from 2017. The average sale price was $348,107, slightly down from 2017’s average of $365,000. Months of inventory was 4 (defined as the measure of how fast all existing homes on the market would last assuming a) no more listings are added, and b) the rate at which homes sell is constant as per the average of the last 12 months of sales), a slightly slower rate of sales than 2017’s 2.5 months of inventory. Single-family homes sold at approx. 98% of their asking price, same as 2017, but averaged about 55 days to sell, or 9 days longer than in 2017. The average sale price was $680,572, up a bit from the $644,000 of 2017. Months of inventory was 5.6, slightly slower than the 3.6 months of 2017. The majority of sales were in the $350,000 to $800,000 range but 15 sold over $1M and 1 sold over $2M.
Market Insights

New mortgage rules are not sending buyers to alternative lenders in droves due 1) big 5 banks are actively counseling buyers on how to qualify and meet the higher hurdles, and 2) credit unions, for example, are inherently conservative and limited inability to raise capital for new mortgages, therefore not willing to take on higher risks. What’s unknown are numbers headed to private and shadow lenders who provide no data.
Realtor.ca continues to be the go-to site for anyone seeking real estate info in Canada. There were 264 million visits in 2017 (up 15% over 2016) and there were 965 million property viewings, a 64% increase over 2016.
First-time buyers, as reported by Genworth, are on average 36 years old with an average household income of $102,000. In the GTA, they are almost equally divided between purchasing a detached home, or a condo, or a rowhouse/semi-detached.
Globe & Mail headlines: GTA housing market poised for rebound; Prices in March down sharply from 2017, but edge up from February, pointing to stronger growth for later in 2018, and Toronto real estate market may be poised for a spring rebound; Listings and sales have been climbing recently and tightening inventory has helped buoy prices. Collingwood/Blue Mountains will follow the GTA’s trends.
In Collingwood/Blue Mtns, the greatest amount of listings and choice for buyers was May through October 2017. With some notable exceptions, this is a historic trend. Sellers will want their properties on the market during these months as buyers naturally prefer to shop when they have the most choice.

Highs, Lows and Specifics

COLLINGWOOD

The high sale was a renovated Regency bungalow near downtown for $1.1M.
The low sale was a mid-town 2 bdrm, 1 bath condo for $210,000.
Condos: Q1 2018 (vs Q4 2017): 141 listings, 36 sold (98 listings, 61 sold); avg DOM 28 (73); avg sale to list price – 98.7% (98.1%); avg sale price $355,893 ($390,000) – down approx. 8.5%.
Single Family Homes: Q1 2018 (vs Q4 2017): 195 listings, 50 sold, (177 listings, 66 sold); avg DOM 40 (67); avg sale to list price – 98.3% (96.8%); avg sale price $502,896 ($490,449) – up approx. 2.5%.

THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

The high sale was a Highway 26 waterfront chalet in Craigleith for $2M.
The low sale was a small studio in the Grand Georgian for $117,500.
Condos: Q1 2018 (vs Q4 2017): 176 listings, 38 sold (145 listings, 42 sold); avg DOM 60 (56); avg sale to list price – 98.2% (98.4%); avg sale price $338,171 ($341,021) – down about 1.5%.
Single Family Homes: Q1 2018 (vs Q4 2017): 347 listings, 45 sold, (305 listings, 49 sold); avg DOM 57 (74); avg sale to list price – 97.6% (95.8%); avg sale price $869,025 ($824,073) – up 5.5%.

CLEARVIEW (Nottawa and Nottawasaga districts)

The high sale was a 16-year-old home on 4+ acres near Nottawa for $1,185,000. There were 2 other sales over $1M, both with acreage and in the Batteaux area.
The low sale was a small bungalow in Stayner for $207,000.
Single Family Homes: Q1 2018 (vs Q4 2017): 391 listings, 87 sold, (327 listings, 71 sold); avg DOM 55 (56); avg sale to list price – 97.9% (97.4%); avg sale price $495,263 ($428,914) – up approx. 15%.

What’s New?

Northwinds Brewhouse & Kitchen has their 2nd location, now open at the Village at Blue Mountain
Steakhouse Social Eatery is now open on Hurontario Street (was Santini’s)
Are you a Landlord? – new Ontario Lease requirements for permanent residence rentals go into effect on April 30th, 2018 – contact us for more information!
Want to prevent basement flooding? A group of local organizations have come together to conduct a pilot project to reduce the risk – this pilot is seeking homeowners to participate in a multiyear project. Participants will receive free cutting edge basement flood protection – go to this site for more information and register www.collingwoodpilotproject.com