Total value of homes sold up 6% this year
By Barbara Simpson, from www.theobserver.ca The Observer
First-time home buyers have helped spur a 6% increase in Sarnia-Lambton real estate sales so far this year.
As of October, total home sales volume reached $284.9 million, the Sarnia-Lambton Real Estate Board reported. Last year, total home sales were $268.3 million for the same 10-month period.
Local real estate agents are benefitting from increased sales in homes under $200,000, said Donna Mathewson, president of the Sarnia-Lambton Real Estate Board. Typically, these sales are from first-time home buyers.
“It’s been the bottom end of our market that has fuelled everything that’s been happening,” she said. “Over the last year, anywhere from 60% to 80% of our sales have been under $200,000.”
Low interest rates have encouraged first-time buyers into home ownership, Mathewson said. Government rebates, like the land transfer tax refund for first-time buyers, have also been an incentive.
Sarnia-Lambton saw $25.4 million in real estate sales in October. That fell just shy of September’s sales of $28.4 million.
October also saw an increase in construction, according to the City of Sarnia’s building permit statistics. Thirty-eight permits were issued in October compared to 36 at the same time last year.
However, the total number of permits issued to date is still lagging behind last year. Only 623 permits have been handed out compared to 742 by October 2010.
Construction values are also trailing this year. Construction has been pegged at $63.8 million compared to $78.9 million by this time last year.
Observer Article ID# 3360458
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