How do you sum up a year in real estate that saw so many dramatic changes? Let’s look to the numbers.
In 2021 there was a record annual sales volume, but that figure for 2022 represents a 31% drop at $1,610,600,893. Unit sales were down 38% for the year. New listings, however, were up in that same period—an increase of 10%, according to the latest in-depth market report from Royal LePage’s Locations North.
The fourth quarter of any year in real estate tends to be quieter, with fewer sales. This was certainly true of 2022, which saw its Q4 sales volume down 44%. Unit sales were down 41%, though new listings rose 14%.
The average annual sale price hit a new high in 2022: $977,306. That record figure is up 11% from 2021. Properties did take longer to sell, however, averaging 6 more days than they did last year at 27 days. In the month of December, houses took even longer to sell: 55 days on average. Annual sales were down across all seven price ranges.
For years now the market has been quite unbalanced, but right now the demand for listings is equal to the supply.
There is currently 6 months of inventory, which is generally considered to indicate that the market is balanced.
These numbers may have surprised some, as the year got off to a very strong start. As the months wore on, however, it became clear that results would pale in comparison to 2021. Some perspective is in order, of course, as 2022 was still the third-best ever year on record. The year also saw a strong average close-price-to-list-price ratio of 98.6%.
Dollar sales and unit sales for all property types were down. Average days on market and the average sale price were the only figures that saw increases. The average sale price of a single-family home in Southern Georgian Bay was $1,072,661 (up 10% from 2021). For condominiums it was $612,874 (up 9%) and for townhouses it was $786,674 (also up 10%).
In Q4, single-family home and condo prices finished slightly up from 2021—and way up if you go all the way back to 2010. The average sale price for single-family homes in Q4-2022 was $988,578 and for condos it was $572,767.
We would all do well to remember that markets are cyclic. The huge sales and rapidly escalating prices that began in June 2020 and lasted until March 2022 could not be sustained. Now that we’re starting 2023 with a balanced market, it will be interesting to see what the year has in store.
No one sells more luxury real estate throughout South Georgian Bay than the REALTORS® at Locations North, with offices in Collingwood, Thornbury, Creemore, Craigleith, Meaford, Wasaga Beach and Stayner.
View their listings here.