Home sales strong despite low inventory; record price levels

The average price of the 49 homes sold in Prince Edward County last month was $674,625 – just over 27 per cent higher than in 2020 when 26 homes sold for an average price of $530,546.

The Quinte and District Association of Realtors reports another strong month for sales in the region, and also saw a significant increase in the number of newly-listed properties.

The number of new listings in the region was up by 19.8 per cent from February 2020 to 388 – the largest number of new listings added in the month of February in five years.

“Having said that, the current imbalance in our local market continues to contribute to the upward pressure on prices driving price levels to a new all-time record for the fifth time in six months,” states Don McColl, president QDAR.

“There were 308 active residential listings on the market at the end of February. This was a substantial decline of 52.8 per cent from the end of February 2020. Active listings haven’t been this low in the month of February in more than three decades.”

McColl notes the MLS Home Price Index tracks price trends more accurately than using average or median prices. He states the overall MLS Home Price Index benchmark price was $443,300, advancing 34.5 per cent in February 2021 compared to a year ago.

For the region, the average price of homes sold was a record $583,935, a substantial gain of 53.5 per cent from February 2020. The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $580,599, rising 52.7 per cent from the first two months of 2020.

The number of homes sold through the MLS system for QDAR was 289 last month, up 35 per cent from February 2020.

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