866 homes sold in September 2016 with a break down of 716 detached homes and 150 condos, showing 3.1% over last September and the best September since the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR) began systematically tracking sales back in 1978. "2016 has been a year of breaking records," says Stacey Evoy, LSTAR President. "Not only has this past month been the best September ever, we've also had record breaking months of April, June and August.”
Listings were down 15.5% in September, while inventory – as represented by the number of active listings at month end -- was down 31.7%. "Demand remains high and supply low," says Evoy."That means that this Fall Market is a great time to list."
Sixty seven homes sold in St. Thomas in September, ten fewer than in September 2015. Evoy cautions, “You have to bear in mind that last year was the best September for St. Thomas since 2007, when we started breaking out the St. Thomas statistics from the rest of the London Census Metropolitan Area.” The ten year average for the month of September in St. Thomas stands at 60. The average price for a home in St. Thomas Year-to-Date stands at $224,233, up 3.4%.
Within LSTAR's jurisdiction, once again the style of house leading the way was the two-storey, then the bungalow, followed by ranches, then townhouse condominiums, then high rise apartment condos. The average price for a detached home Year-to-Date stood at $296,283, up 5%, while the average price for a condo over the same period stood at $201,061, up 5.9%. The average price of all homes sold through LSTAR's MLS® Year-to-Date stood at $278,311, up 5.2%.
|
House Style |
Units Sold |
Average Price |
|---|---|---|
| 2 storey | 205 | $407,542 |
| Bungalow | 173 | $226,645 |
| Ranch | 110 | $345,247 |
| Townhouse | 68 | $178,896 |
| High rise apt. condo | 43 | $179,377 |
The following table, based on data taken from CREA's National MLS® Report for August 2016 (the latest information available), demonstrates how homes in LSTAR's jurisdiction continue to maintain their affordability compared to other major Ontario and Canadian centers.
|
City |
Average Sale Price |
|---|---|
| Vancover | $853,706 |
| Toronto | $736,670 |
| Fraser Valley | $621,599 |
| Victoria | $564,557 |
| Hamilton | $510,204 |
| Calgary | $472,983 |
| Saskatoon | $413,756 |
| Edmonton | $379,006 |
| Ottawa | $368,331 |
| Kitchener-Waterloo | $364,290 |
| Montreal | $360,542 |
| Niagara | $331,906 |
| Regina | $330,338 |
| London St. Thomas | $274,383 |
| Canada | $467,082 |
The vital impact and role real estate plays in the overall economy, is shown in a recent study that states that one job is created for every three real estate transactions and approximately $53,000 in ancillary spending is generated every time a house changes hands in Ontario. "That means September home sales in LSTAR's jurisdiction spun approximately $45,898,000 into our local economy and created approximately 288 jobs," says Evoy. "We are very proud of the important role REALTORS® play in ensuring the vibrancy of our market area."
