Who will be first to jump?
With balance returning to London’s housing market, homebuyers will return. But who will be first to show?
AT THE START of 2011, the average price of a home in London was about $230,000. Six years later, in 2017, it was $300,000, having gone up about 30 per cent. Today, the average price is just under $600,000 ― a 100 per cent increase in six years.
This provides some perspective. Despite a fall from what could be now termed an artificial high one year ago, our market has made enormous gains and created considerable wealth for property owners who had owned in the last few years.
It can certainly be said that the buyers in the first four months of 2022 have suffered a loss of equity in the short term, especially if they decide to sell in the current market. There were approximately 4,000 transactions in that period ― those homebuyers will hopefully be able to hold their properties for the longer term until appreciation brings their equity back.
“Our current market remains calm, measured and somewhat balanced. Searching for the bottom may be a fool’s errand”
There are a growing number of economists and market watchers predicting that there is pent-up demand of consumers sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see the market bottom. In 2017, the market’s rapid rise began when GTA buyers realized the relative affordability and limited inventory of the London market. In a period of about 90 days, they captured virtually all of the new construction to-be-built homes in our region. Securing our region’s new builds with small deposits in a market poised to appreciate was simply a smart investment strategy.
The big question remains what will turn our market around and bring buyers off the bench, and what buyers will be the first to show? Will investors from GTA realize our relative value again? Will first-time homebuyers finally accept the interest rates are here to stay and adjust their expectations accordingly? Will immigration growth and demographics, combined with limited rental supply, simply force real estate activity up?
Our current market remains calm, measured and somewhat balanced. Searching for the bottom may be a fool’s errand. Hoping for interest rate reductions when job growth is breaking records may also test buyer’s patience. You can only play the cards you’re dealt, and in real estate terms, that means measuring your current financial capacity given the current mortgage market.
Source a professional realtor to give you seasoned advice and make a proactive plan for you and your family. That plan may be to wait ― but that should be an informed decision that you make, not one the market makes for you.
Market analysis provided by Marcus Plowright, Sales Representative, A Team London. Marcus can be reached at 519-872-8326 or [email protected].
High- and low-priced real estate listings around town this week
London East
Low
Address: 202-1174 Hamilton Road
MLS number: 40373589
List price: $149,900
Days on market: 8
Size: 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 642 square feet
Listing agent: Andrew Stinson, Sales Representative
Brokerage: Century 21 First Canadian Corp.
High
Address: 1839 Parkhurst Avenue
MLS number: 40336618
List price: $1,899,000
Days on market: 123
Size: 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 4,259 square feet
Listing agent: Richard Emil Salhani, Sales Representative, Century 21 First Canadian Corp.
London North
Low
Address: 54-1220 Royal York Road
MLS number: 40365229
List price: $364,900
Days on market: 35
Size: 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1,150 square feet
Listing agent: Jordan Smeltzer, Sales Representative, Oak And Key Real Estate Brokerage Inc.
High
Address: 565 Leyton Crescent
MLS number: 40328768
List price: $3,280,000
Days on market: 137
Size: 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 5,966 square feet
Listing agent: John H. Crosby, Sales Representative, Royal Lepage Triland Realty
London South & West
Low
Address: 32-198 Springbank Drive
MLS number: 40325975
List price: $135,900
Days on market: 145
Size: 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 640 square feet
Listing agent: Zahra Khawari, Sales Representative, PC275 Realty Inc.
High
Address: 75 Woods Edge Close
MLS number: 40351626
List price: $3,375,000
Days on market: 22
Size: 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 8,308 square feet
Listing agent: Owen Price, Sales Representative, Keller William Lifestyle Realty
Disclaimer: London Inc. does not guarantee the accuracy of the statistical data on this page. The data does not represent the listings of any one agent or agency but represents the activity of the real estate community in the area. Any real estate agent’s ad appearing is separate from the statistical data provided, which is in no way a part of their advertisement.