The London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) released new statistics on Wednesday saying average home prices in the region have dropped in the last month.
In April 2022, 877 households traded hands in the London-St. Thomas area and 1,069 property listings were posted on LSTAR’s MLS system.
“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 per cent signals that we’re trending towards a more balanced market,” said Randy Pawlowski, 2022 LSTAR president.
Within this same time frame, LSTAR said the overall average home price 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.
Out of the 877 properties sold last month, 648 were single-family homes, 121 were condo townhouses and 74 were apartments.
“In April, the average price for a single-family home in LSTAR’s jurisdiction sat at $840,415, that of a condo – at $618,049, and the overall average price for an apartment – at $476,283,” Pawlowski said.
Pawlowski added that the region’s real estate prices are far higher than those in cities in Alberta and Saskatchewan, for example. But as far as Ontario goes, the prices in London-St. Thomas are “among the most affordable in Ontario.”
The MLS benchmark price of a home in the London-St. Thomas area is $739,700, while the national average is $882,400.