July 2010 Sales Review

RECORD STAFF
WATERLOO — House sales cooled off in Waterloo Region in July, but the president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board insists the local market remains stable.

Sales were down 23.7 per cent in Kitchener and Waterloo as 499 homes changed hands compared to 654 for the same month a year ago, the board said Friday.

In Cambridge, 237 homes were sold last month, a drop of 16.3 per cent from the 283 sold for the same month a year ago.

While July totals were down, Ted Scharf, president of the Kitchener board, pointed to year-to-date residential sales of 4,135 units, an increase of 9.2 per cent compared to 2009.

“There are only so many buyers in a year. We had a pretty hot spring. Buyers came out in droves,” he said in an interview.

The average sale price rose one per cent to $284,344, another sign that the local market remains stable and values are “in no way inflated,” Scharf said.

July was a busy month last year as the economy emerged from the recession, he noted. The harmonized sales tax, which kicked in on July 1, may also have dampened sales this year, he said.

Instead of the previous five per cent, buyers now pay a 13 per cent HST on real estate commissions, legal fees, appraisals, condo fees, home inspection fees and moving costs.

July’s sales totals were the lowest since 2002.

Last month’s residential sales in Kitchener and Waterloo included 332 detached homes, 80 condos, 39 semis and 41 townhouses. The most popular price range was $225,000 to $275,000. Thirty-per-cent of sales occurred in this category.

While July totals were down in Cambridge, year-to-date sales are up 10.7 per cent. A total of 1,757 properties have changed hands, compared to 1,587 for the first seven months of 2009.

The average sale price increased 14.9 per cent to $287,923 in July.

“We’re continuing to see strong upward pressure on prices,” Bob Peace, president of the Cambridge Real Estate Board, said in a release.

But softer sales and gains in housing supply will likely have a cooling effect on prices in the second half of the year, he noted.

One hundred and five properties sold for under $249,999, the busiest category during July, the board said.