By Cathy Dobson, from www.theobserver.ca The Observer
The local real estate market was surprisingly strong in 2011 with near-record sales totals and an exceptional December that was the best in 10 years.
“December was possibly an all-time high in terms of dollar volume,” Donna Mathewson, president of the Sarnia-Lambton Real Estate Board said Thursday.
Last month easily topped December 2010 when the infamous Snowmaggedon storm hit and local residents stopped thinking about housing sales.
“We surpassed December last year by $8 million in sales,” Mathewson said. “You do need to keep it in perspective, though.
“There were 102 sales in December, which is 57% better than the 65 in December 2010. But, to be honest, weather played a part in December’s numbers,” she said.
“We had horrific snowstorms in December 2010 and virtually no snow in December 2011.”
That meant house hunters stayed on the trail last month and weren’t thinking as much about Christmas shopping as house shopping.
Year-end data released Thursday also show the dollar value of sales in 2011 was the second highest in a decade.
Total sales totaled $328,575,000, a figure surpassed only in 2007 when housing sales topped $349 million.
“2007 was a banner year. It was the peak of the bubble,” Mathewson said. “It’s going to be really hard to beat.”
While 2011 stacked up well, the high dollar value was also skewed by the sale of eight houses each worth $900,000 or more.
“We sold two houses over $1 million in 2010 and six over $1 million in 2011,” said Mathewson.
Last year saw 1,683 properties sold, a 3% increase over 2010. There was also a 5% increase in listings and a 9% increase in total sales volume.
“A 3% increase in sales is slight but it shows we’ve got good strength in our local economy,” said Mathewson.
She said low interest rates and government rebate programs continued to attract buyers in 2011, despite an expectation early in the year that interest rates would rise.
“There was a lot of rumbling about interest rates and what was happening in the States. I think people wanted to take advantage of the situation before it changed, but it never did,” she said.
It’s likely interest rates will remain low throughout 2012 and continue to bolster real estate sales, Mathewson added.
“I think we’ll see steady growth this year, nothing dramatic, but a healthy incline,” she said.
Observer Article ID# 3426680
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