KITCHENER-WATERLOO – The 531 homes sold last month through the MLS® System of the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board (KWREB) may be a mere one percent increase relative to one year ago, but is still the most ever recorded in a single September of the board’s history, which has been "formed" since 1937 to manage area MLS listings.

Sales last month totalled $135,379,151 (up .6 percent from September 08) and included 335 detached homes (down 0.6 percent from September 08), and 102 condominium units (down 8.1 percent from September 08). It was the increase in sales of semis and townhouses that pushed September sales over last year, with an overall 18 percent increase to 86 units last month.

President Karen Shartun noted that after the exceptional showing of sales in August one might have expected September to be a little sluggish, but the strong momentum of activity continued. “I attribute this to the general feeling of confidence that people have in the Kitchener-Waterloo real estate market and people wanting to take advantage of low interest rates before they move higher” Shartun said.

Prices in the Kitchener-Waterloo area show signs of sustained stability. The average price of all residential properties sold in Kitchener-Waterloo and area last month sold for an average price of $255,432 a slight 0.2 percent decrease over September 2008. The average price of a single family detached home sold in September decreased 2.1 percent to $285,882 on year-over-year basis, while the average price of a condominium unit increased 9.2 percent to $186,825.

The median price of all homes sold last month increased 0.7 percent to $239,900, whereas the median price of single family detached properties increased 3.6% to $271,500.

Strong results these last two months mean sales are starting to close in on last year’s totals. Explains Shartun, “After the first quarter of 2009 sales were down on a year-to-date basis by 25 percent compared to last year, by the end of the second quarter that gap decreased to 10 percent below, now after the third quarter the decrease is only 4.2 percent”.

To the end of the third quarter of the year, there have been a total of 4,965 residential sales, compared to 5,184 during the same period in 2008. “If the fall market continues the momentum we’ve seen in the latter half of summer we are poised to post an annual increase in activity this year,” Shartun says.