Sales down throughout, but year over year median price for waterfront is up

Press Release with Chris O edits

The most recent statistics from the Lakelands Association of Realtors is showing an understandable decline in sales activity year-over-year for the month of December across a variety of sectors.

The Lakelands Association of Realtors represents over 1,500 realtors throughout Muskoka, Parry Sound, parts of Severn and Georgian Bay, Collingwood, The Blue Mountains, Wasaga Beach, Midland, Penetanguishene, and the surrounding areas.

Non-waterfront sales totaled only 162 units in December 2023 across the Lakelands region, a drop of 12.4 percent from the same period in 2022.

This is to be expected as economic uncertainty, particularly in regards to elevated interest rates (which stayed at 5 percent again as of January’s Bank of Canada announcement), is causing a lot of potential buyers to move slower than usual.

But, it wasn’t just year-over-year, as residential non-waterfront sales were 35.6 percent below the five-year average and 35.9 percent below the 10-year average for the month of December.

These declines are a continuation of 2023 as a whole, which say only 4,162 residential non-waterfront units sold in the Lakelands region last year: a decline of 8.8 percent from 2022.

There was a little more optimism to be had in terms of waterfront properties, as year over year sales in December increased by 4.2 percent (which was only by one sale). However, the potential optimism is quelled by the fact that waterfront sales were 45.9 percent below the five-year average and 47 percent below the 10-year average for the month of December.

Annually, Lakelands region waterfront sales totaled 1,109 units over the course of 2023. This was a modest decline of 3.6 percent from 2022.

“Overall home sales for 2023 came in at the lowest levels in more than 25 years after higher interest rates pushed many buyers to the sidelines amid affordability reassessments and uncertainty on future rate movements,” said Bonnie Looby, President of the Lakelands Association, in a media release.

“The waterfront category was slightly outperforming activity in the non-waterfront segment towards the end of the year, with both sales and median prices appearing to stabilize for the waterfront segment of the market. With the normal seasonal trend of activity quieting down for the winter we will need to wait for the arrival of spring before we can determine how the year ahead will shape up based on whether buyers are still holding out or not.”

While there were slight declines in overall sales prices and specifically on the non-waterfront side of things, those who have waterfront properties can feel good about their position in the market.

The median price for waterfront property sales in December 2023 was $999,999 – an increase of 30.7 percent from December 2022.

The total dollar value of all waterfront sales in December 2023 was $33 million, a substantial gain of 39.9 percent from the same month in 2022.

Though the comprehensive annual waterfront median price was $950,000, a decrease of 4.5 percent from all of 2022, the end of the year stats are likely to remain steady or grow.

It’s as simple as supply and demand – particularly in the most sought after areas like Muskoka – where there are always interested buyers but not enough properties to go around.

The Lakelands Region breaks down into West, Central, and North areas . . .

Lakelands West: The Blue Mountains, Clearview, Collingwood, Grey Highlands, Meaford, Wasaga Beach.

Lakelands Central: Midland, Orillia, Oro-Medonte, Penetanguishene, Ramara, Springwater, Tay, Tiny.

Lakelands North: Algonquin Highlands, The Archipelago, Bracebridge, Dysart et al, Georgian Bay Township, Gravenhurst, Highlands East, Huntsville, Lake of Bays, Minden, Muskoka Lakes, Parry Sound, Severn.

See the following tables for December 2023 comparisons and statistics

Sales (all areas)	December 2023	December 2022	Year-over-year % change
Non-Waterfront Residential	162	185	-12.4
Waterfront	25	24	4.2

Median price (all areas)	December 2023	December 2022	Year-over-year % change
Non-Waterfront Residential	$630,000	$685,000	-8.0
Waterfront	$999,999	$765,000	30.7

Non-Waterfront Residential Sales	December 2023	December 2022	Year-over-year % change
Lakelands West	61	79	-22.8
Lakelands Central	70	61	14.8
Lakelands North	31	45	-31.1

Non-Waterfront Residential Median Price	December 2023	December 2022	Year-over-year % change
Lakelands West	$630,000	$720,000	-12.5
Lakelands Central	$670,000	$720,000	-6.9
Lakelands North	$580,000	$595,000	-2.5

Waterfront Residential Sales	December 2023	December 2022	Year-over-year % change
Lakelands West	2	5	-60.0
Lakelands Central	7	3	133.3
Lakelands North	16	16	0.0

Waterfront Residential Median Price	December 2023	December 2022	Year-over-year % change
Lakelands West	$699,250	$650,000	7.6
Lakelands Central	$812,500	$920,000	-11.7
Lakelands North	$1,122,500	$732,000	53.3