Fueled by fewer homes being available and continued low interest rates, real estate prices continue to escalate. While the number of homes sold last month remains relatively steady compared with past Februarys, the dollar volume continues to increase.

Figures for the five-county region show 172 residential sales in February 2021, compared with 176 in 2020 and 165 in 2019. The dollar volume has increased substantially over that time, however. Last month, sales totaled $59,799,211, an average of $347,669. Sales for February 2020 stood at $49,704,715, an average of $282,413, while February 2019 sales were $41,785,904, for an average of $253,247. The numbers for last month were pushed along by nine sales of properties priced at $1 million or more, compared with just three such sales in February 2020 and none in 2019.

The dollar volume for each of the five counties topped or remained relatively the same as previous February figures. Even in Leelanau County, which saw 23 homes sold last month versus 28 in February 2020, the dollar volume increased to $12,604,120 from $10,742,150. The average sale there topped half a million dollars, increasing to $548,005 from $383,648. In another sign of the strength of the market, the average number of days a home was on the market decreased from 144 in February 2019 to 116 in February 2020 to 109 last month.