More of the same

Low supply and rising prices continue to be the norm for London’s residential real estate market

THE LONDON AND St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) has announced that a total 854 homes exchanged hands in November, setting another monthly record for residential sales. Sales were up more than 33 per cent compared to the same time a year ago, marking the best results ever for November since the association began tracking data in 1978.

“This is the third consecutive month of record sales, demonstrating how robust the housing marketplace is right now,” says LSTAR 2020 president, Blair Campbell. “We continue to see increases in average sales price across the region in a market with historically low supply.”

Housing inventory ― a measurement of how long it would take to liquidate existing inventories at the current rates of sales activity ― continues to be extremely tight.

“At the end of November, there were 0.7 months of inventory across the entire LSTAR jurisdiction, which is the lowest level in the past 10 years,” Campbell says. “Out of the five main areas, St. Thomas had the lowest level at 0.5 months of inventory while London was at 0.6.”

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The sales-to-new listings ratio also continues to reflect the market imbalance. In November, it was 108.4 per cent for the LSTAR region ― an extreme seller’s market. LSTAR’s five areas all recorded sales-to-new listings ratios over 100 per cent, with the highest seen in Elgin County at 121.4 per cent and St. Thomas at 113.8 per cent. (In a seller’s market, the sales-to-listing ratio is generally at 60 per cent or more, which translates to six or more sales for every ten new listings. In a balanced market, the ratio is between 40 and 60 per cent, and in a buyer’s market, you’re looking at fewer than four sales for every ten new listings.)

The average price for a home in London in November was $541,377, representing a 29.9 per cent jump from a year ago and a 106.2 per cent jump from 2015 figures. Breaking it down by neighbourhood in the London region, London South (which also contains data for the west side of the city) saw the biggest year-over-year increase in the average price, coming in at $555,682, up 33.9 per cent. London North was $619,908, up 26.8 per cent, while London East was $427,639, up 27.4 per cent over a year ago. In St. Thomas, the average sales price was $426,906, up 28.4% per cent over November 2019.

The median number of days that a home was on the market in London was eight days, down from 11 days in November 2019. Meanwhile, in Strathroy, it was 13, down from 26; in Elgin, it was 18, down from 19; in St, Thomas, it was 12, up from nine; and in Middlesex, it was nine, down from 19.5.