Cornwall’s tight real estate market expected to continue; February sales come five shy of record month

In this January 2021, file photo, the Cornwall and District Real Estate Board office on Eleventh Street West in Cornwall, Ont. (Cornwall Newswatch/Bill Kingston, File)

CORNWALL – Home sales in Cornwall and SD&G came very close to setting another record in February and a tight housing market is expected for most of this year.

The Cornwall and District Real Estate Board says 119 homes were sold – up 20 per cent from the same month last year. It came within five homes of setting a February record.

There were 223 houses sold in the first two months of 2021 – up 41 per cent from the same period in 2020.

Board President Helen MacLeod says sales have “remained robust” throughout the recovery.

The average sale price in February was $337,735, up 47 per cent from February 2020. The year-to-date average price is $347,962. An increase of 55 per cent from the first two months of 2020.

Challenging the market is the availability of homes for people to choose from which remains at a record low.

There was one month of inventory at the end of February, down from 2.6 months in the same month last year. Months of inventory is how long it would take to sell all listings based on the current rate of sales activity.

“Without an abatement in demand, which is very unlikely as we head into the spring, or a further increase in new listings to match that demand, it’s expected that tight market conditions will prevail well into 2021,” MacLeod said.