The numbers for January came in and in general, they were generally average.
New listings for the region were down 26%.
A slower market also saw total sales down 16% for the month however that could be expected with the sleepy January we had.
Interesting to note that total closings for the month were off by 1. 350 for 2010 vs. 349 for 2011. St. Catharines saw new listings as well as new sales slide a little bit as well, however the sales to listings ratio actually increased from a year ago to 41%.
Not great but not unexpected as January is typically a month of new listings as people get their moving plans underway. Average sale price was off by only a few hundred dollars so that held well.
Niagara on the Lake had an active month for new listings. With 53 new listings (up from 36 a year ago), that was 20 more new listings than Fonthill/Pelham. Speaking of Fonthill/Pelham, with only 6 sales compared to 17 a year ago and as well, had the lowest listings to sales ratio at 18%, meaning with 6 sales, there were also 33 new listings.
Numbers like that are certainly not typical but can also tip the scales to the favour of the buyer unless activity can remove some of that inventory. Sales to Listings ratio this time of year can be misleading however as mentioned earlier, a lot of people will delay listing their home until January which tips the balance a little bit.
As always, it can be interested to look at month to month statistics, but larger trends are also important to consider.
We shall see as the year marches along how these trends develop.
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Thank-you to Glen Carrie for the January photo.