Royal LePage Niagara Real Estate Centre Brokerage ended the year with an over all increase in sales of 5.6% over 2009 which was above the reported increase of 4% for the Niagara Association of Realtors.

The Canadian Real estate Association reported an average year over year drop of 3.9% in sales activity across Canada.

Residential MLS Reported Sales  in Local Markets

Niagara Region

The Average Sale price of a single family home rose to $225,259 from the $215,005 reported for the same period in 2009. This 4.8% rise in sale price is less than the 5.8% average price Increase for homes sold via the Canadian MLS Systems across the country.  Locally the sales for Luxury Homes ($400,000 – 1 million plus) rose 35% while the number of homes sold under $200,000 was comparable to 2009 levels.  This change in volumes by price range has  caused the average price to be skewed upwards.

Most Markets in Niagara are described as balanced however Grimsby, Stoney Creek  are still in a Sellers market as inventory levels remain low  & Buyer demand is high.

Looking ahead for 2011, the Niagara Region is expected to have modest growth in sales with high demand in first half of the year.  Recent changes to the Mortgage guidelines may affect some of the first time Buyers but the artificially low mortgage rates will encourage people to get into the housing market .