December sure packed a punch, weather-wise, upending Holiday plans for much of the province with a pretty intense storm that had us all hunkered down under a thick blanket of snow for a few days. The rain and warm temperatures that followed presented a real challenge to families hoping to enjoy the usual winter recreation opportunities Grey County is known for. With so much going on through the Holiday season, the real estate market is generally quieter in December than in much of the year. Even so, this month reported lower numbers of both listings and sales, as well as reduced average sale prices, not only compared with last month, but with last year. This was true right across Grey County as a whole. The reality of higher mortgage rates settling in for the immediate future seems to be taking its toll on the market. Compared with November, December saw a substantial drop in the number of both new listings and sales numbers in all 5 of the areas we follow. Listings are off by 57% on average, while sales are down 32%. Compared with December 2021, there was a jump of 168% in the number of properties listed, but sales were 44% lower this year than last. The listing-to-sales ratio was fairly balanced across all 5 areas, with just one slightly more in favour of listings. Average sale prices fluctuated slightly this month, but the small number of sales may not be a good indicator.
Let’s take a look at the Grey County Residential Real Estate Market Update for December 2022.
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Grey County Market Update
68 homes were sold in December, down 16% from November’s 81. In December 2021, there were 109 sales reported, 60% more than this year.
The average sale price of a home in Grey County declined to $765,000 in December, losing 16% compared with last month and 14% from this time last year.
The number of new residential listings in Grey County dropped significantly in December, falling to 75 from 192 in November, a difference of 61%. Compared with December 2021, the number of listings was lower by 15% this year.
On average, homes in Grey County spent 71 days on the market in December, up from 50 last month, and more than twice as long as in December 2021.
Our Local Communities Market Stats
Grey Highlands
Just 6 new residential properties were listed in the Municipality of Grey Highlands in December, about half the number listed in November, but three times as many as in December 2021. There were 8 homes sold this month, down from 10 in November. In December last year, there were 12 sales. The listing-to-sales ratio for the Municipality of Grey Highlands was 40-60 for December, leaning slightly more to the sales side this month compared with 50-50 in November. The Municipality of Grey Highlands had 5 months of inventory on hand in December, a small improvement over 6 in November. In contrast, December 2021 had just 1 month of inventory available for sale. The average sale price for a home in the Municipality of Grey Highlands slipped a slight 2% this month, to $630,000. There was one large sale, $3.8 million, which we’ve excluded to keep the average from being distorted.
West Grey
9 homes were listed in West Grey in December, down from 21 new listings in November. December 2021 saw 2 listings added to the market. There were 11 residential sales in West Grey this month, 21% fewer than in November, and the same number as in December last year. West Grey’s listing-to-sales ratio shied away from listings this month, shifting to a more balanced 45-55 from 60-40 in November. December’s months of inventory number remained at 6 in West Grey. In the same month in 2021, there was 1 month of inventory available for sale in the municipality. The average home sale price in West Grey dropped by $10,000 in December, to $680,000, a difference of less than 2% month over month.
Chatsworth
The Municipality of Chatsworth had 2 new home listings in December, down from 5 in November, and the same number as in December 2021. Two homes sold this month, one fewer than in November. In December 2021, there were 5 residential properties sold. The listing-to-sales ratio in the Municipality of Chatsworth moved back to a balanced 50-50 in December following November’s brief blip to 60-40. Again in December, Months of inventory in the Municipality of Chatsworth more than doubled, rising to 25 from 11 in November. In December 2021 there were 3 months of inventory on hand. With just 2 sales in the Municipality of Chatsworth in December, one at $650,000 and one at $2.3 million, there were too few results to give an accurate average sale price for the month.
Meaford
The number of new residential listings in the Municipality of Meaford dropped off sharply in December, with just 3 new properties added to the market this month compared with 14 in November. In December 2021 one new listing was added. There were 3 homes sold in the Municipality of Meaford in December, 1/3 the number of sales last month and down by 75% from December 2021. The listing-to-sales ratio in the Municipality of Meaford moved back from 60-40 in November to 50-50 this month. 6 months of inventory were available in the Municipality of Meaford in November. In December, that number was slightly more than double – 13. This is quite a change from December 2021, when there was just 1 month of inventory on hand. In the Municipality of Meaford, the average sale price for a home fell from $626,000 in November to $468,000 this month, a difference of 25%. With just 3 sales, this was a very small sample pool to draw a result from.
Town of the Blue Mountains
In The Municipality of the Town of the Blue Mountains, the number of new residential listings in December fell to 21, 16 fewer than in November, a change of 43%. Compared with December 2021, when there were 11, listings were up by 90% this year. The number of home sales dropped 20% this month from 20 to 16. 34 homes sold in December 2021, nearly double this year’s number. The Municipality of the Town of the Blue Mountains was the only one of the 5 areas we track to have more listings than sales in December. The listing to sales ratio this month was a more balanced 55-45 compared with November’s 65-35. Months of inventory in the Town of the Blue Mountains dropped by one in December, to 7. In December 2021, there was just 1 month of inventory on hand. The average home sale price in the municipality slipped this month, from $1.8 million in November to $1.15 million in December.
