Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Inventory Levels Rise, but Prices Remain Elevated

In May 2022, 1,835 new residential listings were posted on the MLS® System of the London and St Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR), more than in any previous May in the Association's history. The local housing supply increased from only 1.2 months of inventory in April to 1.7 months of inventory in May.

Sales, on the other hand, were more on par with those from the former decade, with only 844 homes exchanging hands last month in LSTAR's jurisdiction.

"Even if in May the sales-to-new listings ratio dropped to 46%, 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 Randy Pawlowski, 2022 LSTAR President. "Compared to last year's figures, both of these values are substantially higher," he added.

LSTAR's composite MLS® Home Price Index Benchmark Price was down 4% over April, falling from $739,700 in April to $703,300 last month. However, this value is still 17.6% greater than the figure recorded in May 2021. Similarly, LSTAR's overall average home price decreased from $771,682 in April to $762,397 in May. Compared to the same period last year, this figure is 19.5% higher.

"One of the reasons why we are witnessing this level of stability is. the change in population from migration and immigration. 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. And, as it happens, our area checks all these boxes." Pawlowski explained

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

April Figures Suggest a Soft Landing of the Local Real Estate Market

 

In April 2022, 877 homes traded hands in the London-St. Thomas area and 1,609 new property listings were posted on the MLS® System of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR). The local housing supply bounced up to 1.2 months of inventory in April from only 0.6 months in March.

“These figures suggest a soft landing of the local real estate market: the April home sales are on par with the ten-year average and last month's sales-to-new listings ratio of 54.5% signals that we’re trending towards a more balanced market,” said Randy Pawlowski, 2022 LSTAR President.

Within the same time frame, LSTAR's composite Home Price Index Benchmark Price saw a 4.5% month-over-month decline – from $774,200 in March to $739,700 in April. A similar difference was also seen in LSTAR's overall average home price, which decreased from $823,954 in March to $771,682 in April.

"There is nothing dramatic about the decline in home prices. These single-digit decreases were actually expected after two consecutive interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada and the Ontario Government's decision to expand and increase the non-resident speculation tax," Pawlowski explained.