The real estate slowdown continued throughout the Grand Traverse region last month. There were 288 residential real estate sales recorded in October, down from last year’s 337 and far below the 441 in October 2020. In fact, you have to go back to 2013 to find fewer sales for the month – and that is only by one unit, as there were 287 sales that October, and 288 in October 2012. The biggest declines from October 2021 were in Grand Traverse and Benzie Counties, which dropped to 145 from 173 and 21 from 39, respectively.
 
While unit numbers are falling, prices continue to increase. The average sale in Grand Traverse was $503,910 vs. $412,677 a year ago, and in Leelanau it gained more than $100,000, leaping to $751,158 from $639,236. Overall residential sales came in at $140,676,720 last month, an average of $488,460. Last year’s October figures were $142,503,698, putting the average at $422,859. Overall days a home was on the market remained relatively steady at 67 compared with last year’s 69, though Grand Traverse’s 72 was higher than the previous year’s 61.