Average home price $421,641 in August

Sales up 12.5% from a year ago as supply of listings remains low in Peterborough area

Home prices in the Peterborough area were up 6.7 per cent in August from a year ago while home sales were up 12.5 per cent compared to a year ago.

The average home price in August was $421,641, up 6.7 per cent from a year ago but down from $433,833 in July, the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.

The year-to-date average price was $425,376, up a similar 6.5 per cent from the first eight months of 2017.

The were 289 units sold in August, up 12.5 per cent from August 2017 and a few sales above the 10-year average for the month.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totalled 1,834 units over the first eight months of the year, down 17.8 per cent from the same period in 2017.

“Sales activity continued to improve in August, although it still has a long way to go to get back to where it was in 2015 and 2016,” association president Kristi Doyle stated.

“Supply remains very low, which is why prices continue to rise.”

There were 384 new residential listings in August, up 23.1 per cent over August 2017.

Active residential listings numbered just 667 units at the end of August, up 2.3 per cent, or 15 listings, from a year ago. The long-term average for this time of the year is closer to 1,400 listings, according to the association.

Residential months of inventory, the time it would take to sell current listings, numbered just 2.3 at the end of August, down a bit from the 2.5 months at the end of August 2017 and well below the long-run average of 6.5 months for this time of year, the association reported.

The dollar value of all home sales in the Peterborough area in August was $121.9 million, up 20 per cent from the same month in 2017 and the first time ever that the value of home sales has surpassed the $120 million mark in August, the association reported.

Nationally, the 39,366 home units sold in August were up 0.9 per cent compared to July but down 3.8 per cent from a year, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported.

The national average price in August was just over $475,500, up 1 per cent from a year ago. Excluding the Vancouver and Toronto areas, the national average price was just under $382,000.