Sales of real estate in February languished behind those of past years. There were 148 sales of residential properties in the five-county area last month, the lowest number since February 2014. Yet the dollar volume outstrips all previous totals. The sales of $66,747,725 – an average price of $450,998 – represents a dramatic increase over the sales of 172 homes last year for $59,799,211, an average price of $347,669. Last year’s February figures were the previous high-water marks for total dollar volume and average price, while the sales of 176 homes in February 2020 was the previous record.

Grand Traverse County saw sales drop to 78 units last month from 98 in 2021; Leelanau was down to 18 from 23; Benzie and Kalkaska each saw one fewer sale than the year previous, at 15 and 12 respectively. Only Antrim saw a gain in the number of homes sold, at 25 last month compared to 22 in February 2021. Yet Kalkaska County was the only one that saw a decrease in dollar volume, down to $1,789,800 from $2,322,705 in 2021. Consequently it was the only one that saw a decrease in average price, at $149,150 versus $178,669. At the other end of the spectrum, the average price in Leelanau County jumped to $899,790 from $548,005.

The average number of days a home is on the market dropped significantly in each county, to an average of 85 from 109. The biggest change came in Kalkaska County, which saw an average of 60 days on the market. In February 2021, that number was 140.