Similar to how 2020 ended, it has been a hot start to 2021 for the London area real estate market.
London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) says 547 homes exchanged hands last month in the London area, the highest number of home sales for a month of January since 1978, when the association began tracking data.
“2021 came in like a lion,” said LSTAR’s president Jack Lane, adding that all regions in the London areas saw increases in several categories.
In January, the overall Home Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for LSTAR climbed 5.7 per cent over December 2020, to $511,500. That marks the first time that LSTAR’s composite HPI price has exceeded $500,000.
In LSTAR’s jurisdiction, the average price was $607,431, which the association says is an all-time high for the area.
“We witnessed increases not only in average home prices, which can be sometimes skewed by a few outliers, but also in the HPI benchmark prices for these regions which paint a more accurate picture of the local property values.”
Lane says there are a number of factors that continue to contribute to the aggressive real estate market, including record-low mortgage rates as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. He says the area’s inventory has also been a factor.
“At the end of January, there were 0.8 months of inventory across the entire LSTAR area, slightly higher than in December, but still at one of the lowest levels in the past 10 years,” Lane said.
“Out of the five main areas, St. Thomas had the lowest housing supply, with only 0.5 months of inventory, while London’s and Strathroy’s values were at 0.7 months, on par with the whole region.”
Of the 547 houses sold in January, LSTAR says 413 were single-family homes, 57 were townhouses, and 57 were apartments.