December saw a sharp decline in home sales in Grey Bruce, Owen Sound, with 155 units sold last month. The realtors association says December sales were down sharply by 23.6% from December 2020. Home sales were 2.8% above the five-year average and 8.4% above the 10-year average for the month of December. On an annual basis, home sales totaled a record 3,503 units over the course of 2021. This was a minor increase of 3.8% from the same period in 2020.
However, the number of new listings was down sharply by 21.4% from December 2020. There were 114 new residential listings in December 2021. New listings were 8.4% below the five-year average and 24.7% below the 10-year average for the month of December. Active residential listings numbered 256 units on the market at the end of December, a substantial decrease of 16.1% from the end of December 2020. Active listings haven't been this low in the month of December in more than three decades. Active listings were 47.4% below the five-year average and 72.8% below the 10-year average for the month of December.
The realtors association says 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 $534,800 in December 2021, a jump of 30.8% compared to December 2020. The benchmark price for single-family homes was $535,200, a substantial gain of 30.4% on a year-over-year basis in December. By comparison, the benchmark price for townhouse/row units was $466,600, an advance of 41.6% compared to a year earlier, while the benchmark apartment price rose by 34% to $384,000, from year-ago levels.
The average price of homes sold in December 2021 was a record $830,982, a jump of 48.5% from December 2020. The more comprehensive annual average price was $650,944, a significant increase of 35.2% from all of 2020. The dollar value of all home sales in December 2021 was $128.8 million, a gain of 13.4% from the same month in 2020. This was also a new record for the month of December.
