July 2008
   

Gary Moran's Kingston Realty Team JULY 2008 Newsletter

Hi everyone,

Wow, time really does fly!  I can hardly believe that more than half of 2008 has come and gone as I sit down to write this month's newsletter - it is already mid-July.

Well, the Kingston Real Estate Board market really slowed down in June with a 23% drop in the number of transactions compared to June 2007.  (395 units sold in 2007 compared to 304 sold in June 2008).  Overall, the number of transactions year-to-date compared to last year the market is down 8.4% (2058 for January to June 2007 compared to 1886 properties sold January to June 2008).  Last month you might recall we were down 4.9% over last year. Although 8.4% is a significant number, it's not time to say the sky is falling!!  I should also point out that these numbers are sometimes revised by the Board's data provider.  Yes, the market is somewhat slower than last year, but we did get off to a pretty snowy start.  One of my fellow REALTORS® just yesterday tried to tell me the market was down 40%. Well, it just ain't so.  Maybe that individual's sales are way down, but thanks to you folks the Kingston Realty Team sales are up somewhat this year to date.

Inventory (active listings) was 29.9% higher at the end of June 2008 compared to the end of June 2007 - that is a significant increase in inventory.

Average number of days on the market is 9.2% higher than last year and with the size of the inventory I expect that the average number of days may increase slightly.

Prices remain on the upside with a 4.6% increase year over year for 2 storey homes, 4.8% for bungalows and 4.2% for condos.  Other residential shows an 11.6% increase and I still am not able to determine the reason for that.

STATISTICS

Entire Board Area (West Napanee/Bath to East Gananoque)

 Jan to June

 Jan to June

 Jan to June

 Jan to June

Active Listings

Active Listings

2005

2006

2007

2008

30-Jun-07

30-Jun-08

2-Storey

# Units Sold

641

634

743

686

514

657

Average Price

$219,589

$247,527

$249,995

$265,009

Bungalow

# Units Sold

898

836

889

852

669

844

Average Price

$197,202

$211,782

$219,008

$234,108

Other

# Units Sold

356

389

383

298

295

400

Residential

Average Price

$176,020

$191,843

$196,386

$218,998

Total

# Units Sold

1895

1859

2015

1836

1478

1901

Days On Market

52

54

54

59

Condo

# Units Sold

182

185

169

175

67

102

Average Price

$140,088

$166,845

$159,849

$171,322

Days On Market

42

47

43

50

I know that we have quite a few "first time" buyers receiving the newsletter - for you folks, now is a great time to quit paying rent - there is a special incentive of a $2,000 rebate on Land Transfer Tax.  If you have been considering your first home, there is now a lot for you to choose from. Mortgage rates are still relatively low, there is a good inventory to choose from, so this is still a great market for buyers.

Sellers will have to price aggressively if they want to get their property sold quickly and it never hurts to spruce up and de-clutter the place because buyers will be doing a lot of comparisons.  We often talk about location, location, location in real estate, but I think we also need to give more consideration to price and presentation in this current market.  I still consider that we are in a balanced market, but buyers now have much more to choose from.

I have heard a couple of folks say that they are going to wait until the prices drop in the fall or spring before they make their move.  Well, as I've suggested before prices are very unlikely to decline in the Kingston board area - the year-over-year increases have been reduced, but I don't expect to see the declines here that are occurring in a few Canadian markets that are correcting for unsustainable 30% and 40% year-over-year increases.  We didn't have that euphoria in our market and therefore don't need the correction.

For those considering selling their home, call my office at 613-389-4052 to arrange for a full presentation of all the marketing services we provide - just one example "The Talking House." has been getting our listings a lot of attention.  Our multifaceted marketing program is designed to gain the greatest exposure of your property in the marketplace - exposure to qualified buyers is the key to selling quickly and for top dollar - call us today!

If anyone has any questions about our unique VIP Buyer Profile Service please give me a call at my home office 613-389-4052, for those at a distance call me toll free direct at 1-866-393-5762. This hassle free service could save you thousands!
 
If anyone would like to receive our special Video entitled "What you need to know before selling your home" simply call 613-389-4052 and ask for the free video to be sent to you. It could make you thousands!

Have a Great Day!

Regards,

Gary Moran, M.Sc.

KingstonRealtyTeam

sutton group-masters realty inc., Brokerage

Independently Owned and Operated