The London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR)
announced another strong month for home sales in October, with 865 homes
exchanging hands. Although down 7.1% compared to the same time a year ago,
sales represent the second-highest number of homes sold in the month of October
since 1978.
"During the fall season, the sales activity in LSTAR's
jurisdiction has been well above the 10-year average," said Jack Lane,
LSTAR 2021 President. "High demand and low supply continue to make this a
very competitive marketplace. If you're considering listing your home or
purchasing a home, your local REALTOR® is the best resource to help navigate
through this ever changing marketplace."
An important area to highlight is inventory, which shows how
long it would take to liquidate existing inventories at the current rate of
sales activity.
"At the end of October, there were only 0.6 months of
inventory, which is lower than the 0.9 months of inventory reported in the same
period a year ago," Lane said. "To put it in perspective, about four
months of inventory would represent a balanced marketplace.
The low supply levels continue to affect the benchmark and
average sales prices. In October, the overall average home price for LSTAR was
$672,328, while the LSTAR composite MLS® HPI benchmark price sat at $613,900.
The single-family home remains on top of the local buyers'
preferences, with 649 sales in October. The table below shows the October
benchmark prices for all housing types in LSTAR's jurisdiction and how they
stack up against the values from a year ago.
MLS® Home Price Index Benchmark Prices
|
Benchmark Type
|
October 2021
|
Change over October 2020
|
LSTAR Composite
|
$613,900
|
↑ 33.3%
|
LSTAR Single-Family
|
$664,600
|
↑ 34.4%
|
| |
|