The latest housing numbers are in from the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors, who actually recorded a decrease in the average sale price of a home in both St. Thomas and Elgin last month.
LSTAR notes 1,049 homes exchanged hands, with 1,544 listings entering the local market, making last month the March with the highest number of listings in their history.
LSTAR President Randy Pawlowski notes “the sales-to-new-listings ratio for the entire jurisdiction of LSTAR was 67.9%, much lower than a year ago, but still indicating a Sellers’ market,” he continued. “The latest interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada may have put a damper on what has been so far a truly fierce competition among local home buyers,” he explained.
In March, the overall average price for all home types in our area was $823,954, whereas LSTAR’s composite MLS Home Price Index Benchmark Price sat at $774,200. “These figures suggest that the pace of home price gains might have started to slow down in our area,” Pawlowski said. “It’s way too early to predict the impact of this new measure, but Ontario Government’s recent decision to increase the non-resident speculation tax to 20% and expand it throughout the whole province might also help tame home prices,” he added.
In St. Thomas, the average sale price for a home in March 2022 was $728,860 and $927,880 in Central Elgin.
This, compared to February 2022, where the average sale price for a home in St. Thomas was $731,584 and $974,715 in Central Elgin.
Written by: Kennedy Freeman
