This, coupled with the arrival of Ontario’s Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) effective July 1st, may account for slower growth in sales during the remainder of the year. “According to the Conference Board of Canada’s index of consumer confidence, consumer sentiment lost some ground after having increased in the first quarter, and is now roughly back on par with levels reported at the end of last year. The decrease in confidence reflects weaker outlooks for household budgets and employment, and less enthusiasm about making major purchases.” Statistics for the month of June 2010, reflect a slight softening in number of listings and number of sales versus June 2009: 503 properties were listed on the local MLS® system in June 2010, vs. 551 in June 2009, a decrease of 8.7%; 197 properties sold in June 2010, versus 206 in June 2009, a decrease of 4.3%. Sales volume, however, was $61,790,689 in June 2010, vs. $50,660,918 in June 2009: an increase of over 21% stemming from increased sales in every price category above $500,000. Quarterly, unit sales activity rose 12.2%, with 599 properties selling in Q2 2010 versus 534 in Q2 2009; the resulting sales volume of $175,156,104 (Q2 2010) netted a 29.5% increase over the $135,306,947 figure for Q2 2009. As reflected in the chart above, all price categories in Q2 2010 showed a marked increase over Q2 2009, with the exception of the under $250,000 range, which actually exhibited a slight decrease (3.0%) in number of sales, with the most significant increase of 138.1% being in the $500,000 to $999,999 range where 50 houses sold in Q2 2010 versus 21 sales in Q2 2009. Number of sales in the $250,000 – $499,999 range increased 21.9%, and the over $1 Million range increased a significant 116.7% (Q2 2010 vs. Q2 2009). New MLS® listings totalled 1814 in Q2 2010, representing an increase of 4.8% over the 1731 properties listed in Q2 2009. For the first six months of 2010, 985 properties have changed hands year-to-date (YTD), surpassing the 769 properties sold same period last year, an increase of 28.1%. MLS® Sales volume of $281,255,054 (June 2010 YTD) represents a solid 47.6% increase over $190,541,815 (June 2009 YTD). As noted in the chart above, all price categories have seen an increase in number of sales June 2010 vs. June 2009: under $250,000 520 vs. 494, or 5.3% increase; $250,000 to $499,999 375 vs. 234, or 60.3% increase; $500,000 to $999,999 75 vs. 34 or 120.6% increase and in the over $1 Million category, 15 sales vs. 7 sales, or an increase of 114.3%. The current Georgian Triangle MLS® sales-to-listing ratio shows a return to more balanced market conditions. With the introduction of the H.S.T., the possibility of slightly higher mortgage rates and tighter qualification rules for mortgage financing, sales activity is expected to remain stable in the months yet may decrease slightly from the somewhat hectic pace experienced in the last quarter of 2009 and first quarter of 2010.
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