Red hot and rolling along

London’s real estate market bounces back in a big way in June; average home price up a whopping 19.3 per cent from June 2019

AFTER TWO CONSECUTIVE months of sharp declines associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, local home sales saw a strong rebound in June.

The London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) reported that 1,188 homes exchanged hands last month in its jurisdiction, up 13.8 per cent from June 2019 and 11.7 per cent more than two years ago.

“In fact, this makes last month the second best June for home sales since LSTAR began tracking data, back in 1978,” pointed out Blair Campbell, 2020 LSTAR president. “In all LSTAR’s main regions, June’s volume of residential real estate transactions was absolutely remarkable: Middlesex County and Strathroy had their best June ever, with 99 and 39 home sales respectively; St. Thomas and Elgin County recorded their second best June, with 97 and 77 home sales respectively; and London’s 748 home sales were right on par with the five-year average,” he added.

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Overall, the number of listings increased in June to 1,513, up 3.4 per cent over June 2019, but the months of inventory – the number of active listings at month end – decreased to 1.3, its lowest value in the last ten years.

“The 78.5 per cent sales-to-new listings ratio recorded last month demonstrates, once again, how firmly anchored our market is in sellers’ territory,” Campbell explained.

“These figures might sound incredible, with all the social distancing rules and the open house prohibition in place. But, in reality, they show how desirable the properties in our area are and how quickly our members embraced new technologies to serve their clients,” Campbell said.

The overall average home price across the LSTAR region rose to $473,998 in June, an increase of 17.8 per cent over a year ago. This average sales price includes all housing types – from single detached homes to high-rise apartment condominiums.

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In London proper, the average home price came in at $486,372, up 19.3 per cent over June 2019 prices.

“Looking at London’s three main geographic areas, London South saw the highest number of home sales last month and the biggest price gain compared to June 2019,” Campbell observed.

The average home price in London East was $378,880, up 16.5 per cent from the same time last year, while in London North increased 15.6 per cent over the same period to $563,957. In London South – which also includes data from the west part of the city – the average home price was $500,453, up 24.1 per cent over June 2019. St. Thomas saw an average home price of $382,862, an increase of 8.5% from last June.