May Sales Down 5.91% Across Niagara
For the second month in a row The Niagara Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reported a year over year decrease in the number of property sales processed through the NAR Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) system. Across Niagara there were 955 during the month of May 2017 representing a 5.91% decrease in sales compared to May of last year.
Pelham Sales Drop 24.4%, Welland Sales Marginally up
Unit sales in Pelham were down by 24.4% dipping from 45 transactions in May 2016 to 34 this year in May. Sales in the City of Welland were up marginally from 108 last year to 109 in May 2017.
Months of Supply Up to 1.47 from 1.16
The big story is that listing inventory is finally on the rise. This past month there were 1280 new listings put on the market - 19.4% more homes than the 1072 dwellings that were listed for sale in May 2017. As a result we are seeing some easing of the housing supply shortage with the current 'Months of Supply' measure rising to 1.47 compared to last year's 1.16.
The residential average sale price of $406,936 was 26.56% higher than last May. The average days on market decreased from 42 to 18 in the residential freehold market and decreased from 79 to 18 in the condominium market.
“During the month of May, we saw a nice rise in inventory across Niagara,” said Randy Mulder, President of the Niagara Association of REALTORS®. “This is a welcome development, and led to a slight move towards a more balanced real estate market. We are still experiencing a “Seller’s Market”, and it remains to be seen whether May is indicative of things to come, or simply the result of a particular set of circumstances in a particular point in time.”
Please refer to the accompanying chart for residential market activity in select areas in NAR’s jurisdiction.
Total sales, average sale price and days on market comparison of May 2016 and May 2017 in all jurisdictions of the Niagara Association of REALTORS®.
