Local Home Prices See Modest Growth
LSTAR
The London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR) recorded the lowest number of February home sales since 1995, with only 436 residential transactions.
However, 761 new listings entered the market during the same time frame, bringing the number of active listings to 1,320 by month-end. The overall sales-to-new listings ratio for LSTAR was 57.3%. Compared to February 2022, both the overall average home price and the composite MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Benchmark Price were significantly lower, down 24.2% and 25.1%, respectively.
Despite this, both metrics saw a modest month-over-month growth. LSTAR’s overall average home price was $621,912 last month, while the composite MLS® HPI Benchmark Price came in at $583,500.
The following table illustrates February’s average home prices in LSTAR’s main regions compared to the benchmark prices for those same areas.
The single-family home continued to be the most desirable housing type in the area, with 325 transactions recorded.
The following table presents the figures for February 2023. This data allows for a direct comparison with the benchmark prices from the preceding years of 2022 and 2020.
LSTAR President Adam Miller is feeling optimistic about the local housing market, with the Bank of Canada signalling that interest rates may have peaked and the consumer confidence index sitting at its highest level since September. Prospective homebuyers and renters should keep a close eye on economic trends and the actions of policymakers in the coming months and years.
The following table shows HPI benchmark prices for February, courtesy of CREA.
Ref. 1. LSTAR Market Stat .https://www.lstar.ca/node/744
2. LSTAR News Release https://www.lstar.ca/sites/default/files/statistics/February-2023-Stats-News-Release.pdf
