The Greater Hamilton-Burlington area resale market reported a total of 722 units sold in December, a decrease of 6.9 per cent from the same month last year and a decrease of 28.3 per cent from November of this year, according to Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) statistics released by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB). Total unit sales for 2010 are being reported at 2.13 per cent higher than last year, while new units listed are 12.7 per cent higher.
“December proved to be a good end to a good year for real estate sales,” said Ann Forbes Arndt, RAHB President, “Sales were down less than seven per cent from last year’s record-breaking December, and were the third highest for a December.”
Residential properties sold during December totalled 692 which included 558 freehold properties and 134 condominiums. Commercial sales for December, including industrial, farm, vacant land and business, totalled 30 units.
The average price of freehold residential properties sold in the month of December was $347,163, an increase of 16.2 per cent compared to December last year. The average sale price reflects the dollar volume of residential sales divided by the number of total residential units sold.
In the condominium market, the average price of condominiums in December was $230,593, a decrease of 4.4 per cent from December 2009.
The total number of units listed for sale during December was 868, which is a 16.7 per cent increase over the number listed in the same period in 2009.
“December is traditionally the quietest month of the year for the real estate market,” added Arndt. “December 2010 was typical when compared to the rest of the year, but proved to be one of our most active Decembers on record in both sales and numbers of listings taken.”
Unit sales reflect “all property types” including residential, condominiums, commercial property, farmland and sale of businesses.