Mountain real estate market continues strong recovery
News
Apr 29, 2010
http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/news/article/208806
March was a good month for Hamilton Mountain real estate, with sales for up 17 per cent from the same month last year.
There were minor declines in activity in the north-central and northeast areas of the Mountain, but the southwest has continued at a brisk pace with a 71 per cent increase in sales over last March and the southeast almost doubled last year’s numbers for that area, said Jeff Bonner, a sales representative with Jag Realty.
Property values have also continued to increase over most of the Mountain. Overall, there was a 15.4 per cent increase in average prices over the same month last year, said Bonner. The biggest gain was in the south-central area with a 23.9 per cent jump. The southwest was the next highest, at a 16 per cent rise over last March.
The only area to see a decrease in average prices for the month of March was the southeast district with a very minor dip of two per cent.
Looking at the first quarter as a whole, Mountain real estate is up 44 per cent in sales over the first quarter of 2009, and the average price of Mountain properties climbed 11 per cent, with all districts seeing increases ranging between 2.4 per cent and 13.8 per cent, said Bonner.
The average price for real estate on Hamilton Mountain at the end of March was $246,160.
While the numbers look quite good, these results do follow an exceptionally weak first quarter in 2009, when there was a decrease of 29 per cent in sales on the Mountain and a 2.7 per cent drop in average prices over 2008, said Bonner. Compared to the pre-recession first quarter of 2008, the first quarter of 2010 has seen a more modest increase of 2.2 per cent in sales activity and 9.2 per cent appreciation in average price.
“The real estate market has recovered from the recession and is continuing at full pace as expected,” said Bonner.
“Sellers in this market are cashing in on a number of positive market influences. The seasonal trend is back on track after the economic uncertainty of last year, buyers are acting quickly to beat some industry changes, interest rates are still attractively low, and market sentiment seems very upbeat.”