The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® Inc. numbered 581 units last month. This was down two per cent from May 2013. And while a two per cent decline in volumes sounds like less than great news, it’s a serious improvement from April of this year, when volumes were down by 10%.
The picture in the city of Barrie was quite different. Sales activity was up five per cent from a year earlier. The City of Barrie saw 349 residential sales in May. And the Sunshine City posted a significant increase in volumes, with sales up in Orillia by 15% from this time last year.
Of course with steady demand and decreased supply comes rising valuations. The year-to-date average price for all homes sold via the Association’s MLS® System in May 2014 was $337,659, up seven per cent from May 2013. Overall supply remains below levels seen in most of the past decade. Active residential listings on the Association’s MLS® System numbered 1,543 units at the end of May 2014, down five per cent from year-ago levels and the lowest May in more than a decade.
In the past few weeks we have seen many of our clients’ homes sell in multiple-offer situations, something that has been commonplace in the country’s major markets, but rarely seen here in the past decade.
It is anticipated that come this fall, officials in Barrie will begin the process of legalizing the city’s 1558 so-called ‘second suites’. While city staff works on recommendations for a new bylaw, the move is already sparking the interest of investors looking for income properties. Over the past few weeks we have encountered situations that involved dealing with tenants. If you are looking to acquire rental property please give us a call. We have experience both as Realtors and landlords, and we’d be happy to help. You’ll also want to read this article by real estate lawyer Mark Weisleder.
http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102587830990-27/Landlords+and+tenants+need+to+co-operate+when+selling+a+home.pdf
A few days ago the Bank of Canada announced it was maintaining its benchmark overnight lending rate at 1%. That means mortgage rates will also remain at or near all-time lows. Meanwhile the average price of a detached home in the GTA reached $585,204, last month (in Toronto it was a staggering $965,670!) Many families are now being priced right out of the booming urban market, driving many of them north to find more affordable homes Simcoe County. For your best mortgage rates from Barrie’s Best mortgage broker call us today www.darick.ca