The average home price for the London, Ont., and St. Thomas area sat at just under $824,000 in March, holding steady near February’s record-breaking average of $825,000.
The latest report from the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) shows that 1,049 homes were sold in March.
The month also had 1,544 listings come onto the local market, marking a new record for LSTAR.
In March 2021, the average home sales price for LSTAR’s jurisdiction was $635,000.
Despite a new record in the number of listings on the local market, LSTAR president Randy Pawlowski says the market’s inventory saw only a slight increase from February, “creeping up from 0.5 months to only 0.6.”
“The sales-to-new-listings ratio for the entire jurisdiction of LSTAR was 67.9 per cent, much lower than a year ago, but still indicating a sellers’ market,” Pawlowski said.
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“The latest interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada may have put a damper on what has been so far a truly fierce competition among local home buyers.”
The latest figures, Pawlowski added, may suggest the pace of home price gains, which have been climbing steadily since December following a slight dip in November, might have started to slow in the local market.
The Ontario government’s recent decision to increase its tax on non-resident homebuyers to 20 per cent, which took effect and expanded to the entire province last week, might also help tame home prices going forward, but Pawlowski says that’s only speculation at this point.
“It’s way too early to predict the impact of this new measure,” he added.
The composite benchmark price for the region, which LSTAR says is more accurate than average prices, dipped to $774,200 in March, down from $749,000 in February.
In March 2021, the composite benchmark price was $566,000.
Of the 1,049 homes sold last month, 756 were single-family homes, while 140 were condo townhouses and 107 were apartments. LSTAR did not specify what were the remaining 46 homes sold last month.
Pawlowski says last month marked LSTAR’s second-best March on record for condominium sales.
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