The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the REALTORS® Association of Grey Bruce Owen Sound has dropped sharply. The 283 units sold in April was a decline of 25.5% from the same month a year ago. However, sales were still 2% above the five year average. On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 937 units over the first four months of the year. This was a decrease of 13% from the same period in 2021.
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) tracks price trends far more accurately than is possible using average or median price measures. The overall MLS® HPI composite benchmark price was $619,800 in April 2022, an increase of 25.8% compared to April 2021. The benchmark price for single-family homes was $623,500, a sizable gain of 25.7% on a year-over-year basis in April. By comparison, the benchmark price for townhouse/row units was $506,300, increasing by 26.5% compared to a year earlier, while the benchmark apartment price was $382,900, an advance of 40.7% from year-ago levels.
The average price of homes sold in April 2022 was $744,484, a gain of 19.4% from April 2021. The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $754,453, increasing by 22% from the first four months of 2021. The dollar value of all home sales in April 2022 was $210.7 million, a decrease of 11.1% from the same month in 2021.
The number of new listings was down by 4.3% from April 2021. There were 447 new residential listings in April 2022. New listings were 13.8% above the five-year average and 15% below the 10-year average for the month of April. Active residential listings numbered 461 units on the market at the end of April, an increase of 10.6% from the end of April 2021. Active listings were 28.7% below the five-year average and 63.4% below the 10-year average for the month of April.
Months of inventory numbered 1.6 at the end of April 2022, up from the 1.1 months recorded at the end of April 2021 and below the long-run average of 4.7 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity