September Newfoundland Real Estate Stats

October 2, 2008 · Filed Under First Time Buyers, Home Maintenance, Monthly MLS Stats, Mount Pearl Listings and St. John's Real Estate · Comment 

The monthly Newfoundland Real Estate MLS housing price break down is showing an increase of 6% in listings this month and an increase of 27% in home purchases.  Year to date, listings are up 1% and sales up 13% compared to this time last year.  Properties sold in St. John’s in the $180,000 to $350, 000 range have doubled in number of units sold.

Total # of New MLS Listings [Sept] = 834

Total # of Sales [Sept] = 606

Number of Active Listings in the NLAR MLS System = 2587

The average price of a home in the St. John’s Real Estate market is now $183,929 year to date for 2008.  Compared to $165,813 9YTD) for 2007.  Remember this is for ALL Newfoundland (nlar.ca)  Prices are closer to the $200,000 average in St. John’s, Mount Pearl and surrounding areas.

Here is a break down by area for the month of September for single family homes

St. John’s Real Estate: Listings = 178 Sales = 122 Sales/Listings Ratio = 67%

Average Sale Price: $192,575

Mount Pearl Real Estate: Listings = 21 Sales = 24 Sales/Listings Ratio = 114%

Average Sale Price: $177,445

Paradise Real Estate: Listings =52 Sales = 32 Sales/Listings Ratio = 61%

Average Sale Price: $210,327

East Extern Real Estate: Listings = 43 Sales = 25   Sales/Listings Ratio = 54%

Average Sale Price: $219,413

Conception Bay Real Estate: Listings = 41   Sales = 41  Sales/Listings Ratio = 100%

Average Sale Price: $197,360

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Hebron: the after effect

August 26, 2008 · Filed Under Market Trends, Newfoundland Oil and Gas, St. John's Investments and St. John's Real Estate · Comment 

Well, it’s almost a week since the big Hebron deal was signed.  Lots of talk, hype and rumors about the real estate market has surfaced.  I’ve “heard” houses being jacked up 40k to 50k the day after and keep getting questions from my past clients….are they true?   Remember the quote,  “Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.”  There have been a fair number of listings this past week.  None to me seem 40 to 50k over where they should be.  Does this mean that people will not be cashing in on the positive news?   Of course they will.  If I personally had my house to sell I would “try” it as well.

I was interviewed by CBC Radio last week, the same day that Hebron was signed, and asked my opinion on the effect of the news.  Here is a clip of the interview.  (Click here for the full article NL housing prices jump as Hebron signed)

Steve Winters, a realtor with Remax, said he noticed the trend begin in the spring, as speculation swirled of a coming Hebron deal.

“We’re starting to see the prices jump, and what $150,000 could get you last year is not going to get you near this year,” Winters said, adding that people from Western Canada, in places such as Fort McMurray and Vancouver, are buying homes on the northeast Avalon sight unseen.

Winters said some people in Newfoundland may get pushed out of the market because of the sudden increase, and that home buyers may not be able to buy the house for which they just received mortgage approval from a bank.

Personally, my thoughts for the rest of this year:  gains will be fairly consistant in an upward trend.  Maybe another 5% gain til the end of 2008.  Remember we have already seen at least a 20% increase from the beginning of the year from current stats.

CHMC is stating that the next 3 - 5 years look VERY promising for Newfoundland Real Estate.  A 15% - 20% increase per year.  Quite possible to double the cost of a property in St. John’s in 5 years in a good area.

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Homesplus Online, mls.ca or Google Search

July 24, 2008 · Filed Under St. John's Real Estate · Comment 

With the increase in photos and virtual tours for MLS listings for sale, long gone are the days where a buyer has to drive around the neighbourhood searching for a home for sale. Most buyers start their home search online months before actually contacting a Realtor to view an MLS listing.    Where do they start?  What would be the first website they visit?

The 3 big websites that pop into my mind are

Homesplus Online - www.homesplus.nf.net

mls.ca - now updated to realtor.ca

Google Search Engine - keywords “st. john’s real estate” or “newfoundland real estate” your choice of keywords

Of course with the last choice you have the ability to search deeper into individual Realtor websites.  This one can also lead you to sites that have nothing to do real estate at all.

What online real estate resources do you use? Homesplus Online and mls.ca are fairly similar in data…..what one do you find easier to navigate?

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Newfoundland Real Estate housing starts up again

July 10, 2008 · Filed Under Real Estate Articles and St. John's Real Estate · Comment 

Released from CMHC Housing Now publications, the starts press release for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Provincial urban housing starts were up during the first half of this year, despite a slight decrease during the month of June, according to preliminary data released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). June’s total housing starts dipped seven per cent, with 212 posted within the province compared to 228 a year ago. A total of 172 of the 212 starts were within St. John’s metro versus 180 last June.

Year-to-date, there have been 738 new homes started across the province versus last year’s total of 623 homes, an increase of 18 per cent. A total of 628 of these starts occurred within St. John’s metro, for a year-to-date increase of 20 per cent.

“The demand for newly built homes remains very high within the local housing market and the solid increase in housing starts during the first half of this year was driven by a low level of existing homes for sale,” said Chris Janes, Senior Market Analyst with CMHC in Newfoundland and Labrador. “With a buoyant economy and positive net migration, tight market conditions are expected to continue and strong demand for housing will drive prices higher throughout the second half of 2008,” added Janes.

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