The London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) reported Friday that the average sale price of a home in the region has dropped, falling from $771,682 in April to $762,397 in May.
In May, the average price for a single-family home in LSTAR’s jurisdiction stood at $818,977, that of a condo at $605,333, and the overall average price for an apartment at $465,364.
In terms of sales, 844 homes were exchanged last month in LSTAR’s jurisdiction.
“Even if in May the sales-to-new listings ratio dropped to 46 per cent, a figure that, typically, indicates a market that tends to favour home buyers, benchmark and average prices saw only modest month-over-month declines,” said LSTAR president Randy Pawlowski. “Compared to last year’s figures, both of these values are substantially higher.”
LSTAR says 1,835 new residential listings were posted on its system in May, more than in any previous May in the association’s history.
The local housing supply increased from 1.2 months of inventory in April to 1.7 months of inventory in May.
“One of the reasons why we’re witnessing this level of stability is the change in population from migration and immigration,” Pawlowski explained. “Only in the fourth quarter of 2021, Ontario’s population saw a net increase of 34,074 people. Many of these new Ontarians are now looking to buy homes they can afford in regions with good schools and hospitals.”
Pawlowski says while the months of inventory saw slight increases, they’re still at lower-than-usual levels.
“Normally, a healthy inventory should sit at around 3.5 or four months,” he said.