LSTAR's Streak of Record Home Sales Continues in October

Last month, the local real estate market continued its streak of record sales and prices. 917 homes were sold in October in the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS®' jurisdiction, while the overall average price for LSTAR climbed to $526,848.

"The 917 residential transactions that took place in our jurisdiction represent the highest number of sales for the month of October since 1978, when the Association started tracking data," said LSTAR 2020 President Blair Campbell. "Out of these transactions, 690 happened within the City of London, which had its best October for home sales, as well," he added.

"The combination between the historically low interest rates and the 'working-from-home' trend has generated an extraordinary demand in a housing market with a very limited supply, which pushed the average home prices to record highs across the region," Campbell stated.

The following table shows last month's average home prices by area and how they compare to the values recorded at the end of October 2019.

Area	October 2020 Average Sale Price	Change over October 2019
Elgin County	$457,625	↑ 13.7%
London	$530,006	↑ 28.5%
Middlesex County	$728,590	↑ 56.2%
St. Thomas	$438,276	↑ 27.5%
Strathroy	$531,498	↑ 8.2%
LSTAR	$526,848	↑ 27.5%

"Comparing these figures with last month's numbers, one will notice a big jump in the average price for Middlesex County between September and October 2020. The difference is largely explained by a handful of high-end sales in October. This example demonstrates perfectly why average prices are not the most reliable indicators of price trends. And this is exactly why LSTAR has decided to adopt and include The Canadian Real Estate Association's Home Price Index and benchmark price in its reports," Campbell says.

In October 2020, the Aggregate Composite Benchmark price for the entire London-St. Thomas area was $463,300, up 2.2% over the previous month and 112.2% from five years ago.