Residential and cottage activity both up year-over-year in March
“While the year-over-year increases for March 2014 look about the same, residential sales surged above 200 units in the month of March for just the fourth time in history, while cottage sales were still running below the historical average for the month,” Mike Stahls, President of Muskoka Haliburton Orillia – The Lakelands Association of REALTORS®. “In fact, the 77 per cent month-over-month increase in residential transactions from still subdued levels in February to very strong levels in March was the largest on record. This likely reflects, at least in part, the release of some pent-up demand following an unusually harsh winter.”
The median price for residential property sales was a record $225,000 in March 2014, up 13 per cent from a low reading a year earlier.
The median price for cottage sales was $385,000 in March 2014, a decline of eight per cent compared to March 2013.
The dollar value of all residential sales in March 2014 totalled $48.9 million, an increase of 35 per cent on a year-over-year basis and the highest level for this month on record.
The total value of cottage sales was $15.4 million. This was up 20 per cent from a year earlier.
| Detailed – Cottage Sales and Median Price by Area | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottage | ||||||
| By Area | Unit Sales | Median Sale Price | ||||
| March 2014 | March 2013 | Year-over-year percentage change |
March 2014 | March 2013 | Year-over-year percentage change |
|
| Muskoka | 15 | 10 | 50.0 | $400,000 | $420,750 | -4.9 |
| Haliburton | 4 | 6 | -33.3 | $121,000 | $421,250 | -71.3 |
Important information
The average price information quoted can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods, or account for price differentials between geographical areas and property types.
The area served by the more than 670 REALTORS® who belong to Muskoka Haliburton Orillia – The Lakelands Association of REALTORS®, is located less than a two-hour drive north of Toronto, in the heart of Canada’s Cottage Country. There are several major geographical areas within the Association’s boundaries, including the City of Orillia, Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, Muskoka Lakes, Huntsville, Almaguin Highlands, Lake of Bays and Haliburton. Each of these areas has a unique blend of properties ranging from residential homes located in the City of Orillia and smaller towns located throughout the remaining areas and the prestigious year-round recreational properties on large lakes, and lower and mid-range priced cottage properties on the smaller serene lakes.