Rising Borrowing Costs Further Soften Local Home Sales
In October 2022, the MLS® System of the London and St. Thomas
Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR) saw 975 new listings and 504 home sales. While
October's new listings were on par with the average value recorded for the
month of October throughout the last decade, the monthly home sales were at
their lowest point in the last ten years.
"This year's successive increases in interest rates put a big
dent in the local home sales activity and made the year-over-year price values
plunge. However, it's not all bad news: LSTAR's sales-to-new listings ratio
increased from 42.4% in September to 51.7% in October, which indicates a more
balanced market. Moreover, the overall average home price in the London-St.
Thomas region was a bit higher in October than during the previous month,
increasing from $635,256 in September to $640,570 last month," said 2022
LSTAR President Randy Pawlowski.
Compared to a year ago, both the average home price and the
composite MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Benchmark Price edged slightly down but
remained higher than the figures seen in 2020 and before. LSTAR's overall
average home price was $640,570 in October, 4.1% less than a year ago, but
21.7% higher than in October 2020. The composite MLS® HPI Benchmark Price sat
last month at $584,200, 2.1% lower than last year, but 26.1% higher than in
October 2020.
