Peterborough average home prices shot up 18.8% in 2020

‘Massive surge in activity over the second half of the year more than wiped out any declines’

The average price of homes sold in Peterborough city and county in 2020 was $555,727, up 18.8 per cent from the average for 2019, despite all the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The average price in December was $595,670, up 30.8 per cent from December 2019 and the second highest monthly average price on record.

The Peterborough and the Kawarthas Association of Realtors reported115 residential sales, up 29.2 per cent from December 2019 and the highest for December in five years

Home sales for all of 2020 totalled 2,416 units, up seven per cent from the same period in 2019.

“We didn’t end up setting any new records in December, but it was still some of the best numbers for the month on record,” stated Jon Maxwell, the new president of the association.

“Looking back at 2020 I certainly don’t think any of us expected to end the year higher than where we were in 2019, but a massive surge in activity over the second half of the year more than wiped out any declines we had in the first two quarters.

“New listings haven’t kept pace with demand, so right now we’re seeing the lowest overall inventories on record. Without any sustained increase in supply returning to the market we’ll likely continue to see strong double-digit price growth into early 2021.”

Under the MLS Home Price Index, which tries to smooth out average and median prices price from distortion by sales of higher-end properties, the

composite single-family benchmark price was $501,100 in December, up 18.7 per cent from a year ago. There were 100 new residential listings in December 2020, up 31.6 per cent from the end of December 2019 and the largest number of new listings added in the month of December in five years.

Active residential listings numbered 83 units at the end of December, which is down 71.1 per cent from the end of December 2019. Active listings haven’t been this low in the month of December in more than two decades, the association reported.

The association estimates it would take just 0.7 months to sell off the inventory of listings at the end of December at the current rate of sales, down sharply from the 3.2 months at the end of December 2019 and below the long-run average of 4.2 months for this time of year.

Average prices in surrounding regions also shot up. The Kawartha Lakes Real Estate Association reported 75 sales in December, up 7.1 per cent from a year ago, with the MLS HPI c o m p o s i t e /s i n g l e - f a m i l y benchmark price at $488,400, up 29.6 per cent from December 2019. The Northumberland Hills Association of Realtors reported 57 sales in December, up 29.5 per cent from a year ago, with the MLS HPI composite/ single-family benchmark price at $538,300, up 25.4 per cent from December 2019 while the benchmark price for the whole year was $544,600, up 26 per cent from 2019.