Buying or selling property can be one of the most stressful experiences people go through. The sure way to lower your stress level and be happy with the end result is to work with an experienced, trusted Realtor®. In our last article, Get to know your Real Estate Partners, Rick Wearing & Sandra Parrott we shared some of our personal background for myself, Rick Wearing, and my partner in life and business, my spouse Sandra Parrott. Together we’ve built a long-term partnership that we enjoy putting to work for the benefit of our clients.
As much as we enjoy what we do, it wouldn’t mean much if we didn’t have the knowledge, experience and support that is necessary for success. In addition to selecting a Realtor® you personally like, you should also select a Realtor® that you know has the expertise and knowledge in the local market place and represents a well-established and respected company as well. We, Rick Wearing & Sandra Parrott, in partnership with Royal LePage Lakes of Muskoka Realty Inc., Brokerage, bring our expertise to the table every time.
A key place to begin a real estate conversation with your agent is the local market. As the new real estate year is just getting underway, now is a great time to look back at the real estate year of 2018.
Specifically, let’s look at the markets of Huntsville, Lake of Bays and the Almaquin area, where most of our clients are looking to buy or sell. This summary of information has been taken from the Royal Lepage Lakes of Muskoka Realty Inc., Brokerage 2018 Year End Report dated January 28th, 2019. Click here to view the report
In summary, although unit sales in 2018 were down compared to previous years, prices were up. This is in all likelihood caused by lower inventory levels.
Unit Sales Huntsville unit sales in 2018 were 294, down from the previous year of 377 (-28%), but higher than the 10 year average of 271 units.
Residential Sales Huntsville residential sales were down 22.02 % in 2018.
Average Price Huntsville residential average price was up 9.1% in 2018 to $381,399 compared to the average price in 2017 of $349,613.
Waterfront Sales Huntsville / Lakes of Bays Waterfront Sales were just under 225 units in 2018, down from the previous three years, 275 units in 2017, 325 units in 2016, and on par with the 10 year average of 225 units.
Almaquin waterfront sales were just under 200 units in 2018, down by over 100 units from both 2016 & 2017 and slightly down from the 10-year average.
Huntsville / Lake of Bays Waterfront Average Price Huntsville / Lake of Bays waterfront average price was up 14.4% in 2018 to $737,776 compared to the average price in 2017 of $644,878. The Almaquin average waterfront sale price was up 18% to $366,501 compared to $310,261 in 2017.
How did the luxury market perform?
For comparative purposes let’s assume the luxury market is composed of waterfront sales in excess of One Million Dollars. In the entire Muskoka market, there were 137 properties sold in excess of $1,000,000 Dollars in 2018. In 2017 there were 198 units sold. That is a drop of 30.8 % from 2017 to 2018 and 18.4% from 2016 to 2018. Based on units sold alone it would appear that the luxury property in Muskoka has been impacted negatively over the past couple of years.
For further information on the luxury markets across Canada please refer to this Luxury Property Report prepared by Royal Lepage which was recently released on Feb. 21, 2019.
In addition to our personal real estate expertise, we are happy to represent Royal LePage, Canada’s Leading Real Estate Company, which has a strong heritage and has been providing to Buyers, Sellers and Realtors® Real Estate services successfully for over 100 years. View more information here
With Royal LePage, we as Realtors® have a long-standing, trusted resource that we can put to work for our clients. As a trusted brokerage, Royal LePage has also shown how much they care about the communities throughout Canada. This is most notable in the $29 Million dollars raised through the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. Having a home means more than a price and set of keys, it means comfort and dignity, which we all deserve; Royal LePage knows this too.
Owned by a strong, reliable parent company Brookfield, Royal LePage is a true Canadian business; 100% of their employees live in Canada. As Canada’s Real Estate Company, it’s no surprise Royal LePage is the #1 Brokerage in 100 different Canadian markets.
Locally, Royal LePage Lakes of Muskoka Realty Inc., Brokerage is the largest real estate brokerage in the Muskoka area having 8 offices, with 84 Sales Representatives or Brokers. Royal LePage Lakes of Muskoka has been successfully representing Buyers and Sellers in the Muskoka area since 1997. The 2018 Year End Report indicates that Royal LePage Lakes of Muskoka is involved in 2.5 – 3.0 of every 10 transactions, the closest competitor is involved in 1.5 -2.0 transactions out of 10. With over 25,000 homes sold in the Muskoka area, Royal LePage Lakes of Muskoka has been a market leader since 1997, more than 20 years. These figures reflect the positive results partnerships such as ours can bring to their clients.
Contact us, Rick Wearing & Sandra Parrott, Your Real Estate Partners! Whatever your Muskoka home, cottage or condo dreams may be, let us put our care and expertise to work for you. Please call us at 705-788-3535 or email at info@WearingParrottTeam.com today!
This information is taken from sources deemed to be reliable. Rick Wearing & Sandra Parrott do not guarantee accuracy; we recommend information be validated independently.
Real Estate statistics reported are taken from data provided by the Lakelands Association of Realtors for the period Jan. 1, 2018- Dec. 31st, 2018.