Despite October’s new listings being “on par” with the average for the month over the last decade, monthly home sales were at their lowest point in the last 10 years, the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) said Thursday.
In October, the housing supply remained relatively steady in the area, with 3.2 months of inventory and 1,620 active listings at month’s end. At least 975 new listings and 504 home sales were recorded last month.
“The numbers of both active listings and inventory months are now at healthier levels, but they’re still lower than those seen at the beginning of this decade, which hints that the housing supply issue is still there,” said 2022 LSTAR president Randy Pawlowski.
In addition, the average home price was $640,570 in October, 4.1 per cent less than a year ago, but 21.7 per cent higher than in October 2020. That’s up from $635,256 in September, marking an increase of roughly $5,314.
September’s average was the lowest seen in the region since August 2021, when the average sale price stood at $620,000. In February, the local market saw a record average price of $825,221.
Pawlowski said that while this year’s “successive increases” in interest rates have put a “big dent” in local home sales activity, “it’s not all bad news.”
“LSTAR’s sales-to-new listings ratio increased from 42.4per cent in September to 51.7 per cent in October, which indicates a more balanced market,” he explained in a statement.
According to officials, compared with a year ago, both the average home price and the composite MLS Home Price Index (HPI) benchmark price edged down slightly but still remained higher than the figures seen in 2020 and before.
Noted in the report, despite having the lowest number of overall units sold at 37, apartments recorded “actual gains in both their average and HPI benchmark price,” Pawlowski observed, unlike single-family homes and condos, which saw year-over-year decreases.
“More specifically, in October, the average price of an apartment in the London-St. Thomas region was $416, 516, 8 per cent higher than in October 2021, while its HPI benchmark price was $398,600, up 2 per cent over the same time a year ago,” he added.
— with files from Global News’ Matthew Trevithick
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