Grey Bruce home sales picked up in September, and new listings surged to the highest level in decades for the month.
The Realtors Association of Grey Bruce Owen Sound says 257 units sold last month, a substantial increase of 42.8 per cent over September 2023. But the sales activity number was still below the longer-term trends for the month (five per cent below the five-year average, and 11.5 per cent below the 10-year average).
Prices were little changed. The realtors’ association says the average price of homes sold was just over $642,000. That’s 1.5 per cent annual increase, and month-to-month it’s essentially unchanged from the number the region posted in August ($645,000).
The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $645,441, a minor gain of 1.7 per cent from the first nine months of 2023.
RAGBOS notes the MLS composite benchmark price is a more advanced and accurate tool to gauge a neighbourhood’s home price levels and trends. It is based on the value home buyers assign to various housing attributes, which tend to evolve over time.
The composite benchmark home price for Grey Bruce last month was $573,800, down by 1.8 per cent from September 2023. On a monthly basis, it is slightly lower (around 1.5 per cent) than the benchmark price the region posted in August. ($582,200).
The benchmark price for single family homes was $582,100, a reduction of two per cent year-over-year. For townhouse/row units it was $489,100 (a year-over-year increase of 0.3 per cent) and for apartments it was $377,700 (3.9 per cent annual increase).
The total dollar value of all home sales in September was $165.1-million, a substantial increase of 40.6 per cent from the same month in 2023.
The regional housing market remains flush with supply, and new listings surged last month. RAGBOS says there were 1,521 active listings at the end of September, the most for the month in more than five years.
This as more than 543 new listings hit the market last month — the largest number for September in more than three decades.
One metric indicates the pace of Grey Bruce’s housing market is moving slower than the longer term trend for this time of year. RAGBOS says months of inventory numbered 5.9 at the end of September. That is above the long-run average of 4.4 months for this time of 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.
The Realtors Association of Grey Bruce Owen Sound covers a geographical area that includes Grey and Bruce counties, and part of Wellington County.