News

The London and St Thomas Association of REALTORS® is proud to announce that the recipients of this year's LSTAR Scholarship are Morgan Austin, the granddaughter of LSTAR Member Peter Christensen, Laura McFalls, the daughter of LSTAR Member Jeff McFalls, Benjamen Stafl, the grandson of LSTAR Member Yvonne Collyer, and Kale Waram, the grandson of LSTAR Members Mike and Lynn Brady.

981 homes exchanged hands last month, up 23.4% from June 2013. "Everything was up," says Jim Holody, President of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS®. "Detached homes were up 22.3%, condos were up 28.4% and listings were up 18.6%. An increase in listings is good news because it means our market remains a balanced one. In addition, the Year-to-Date sales total 4,337, up 2.8%. There's no question but it's a happening market out there. Our Members have been telling us that the market has been playing catch-up to adjust for the unusually cold winter; the stats for the last two months certainly bears that out." He goes on to point out that, "Low interest rates, the conclusion of the provincial election and strong consumer confidence all contributed to making last month the best June since 2007 – itself a record year."

The Spring Market might have been slow out of the gate, but it more than made up for any lost time in May. A total of 988 homes exchanged hands last month, the highest record for a month in six years. "Condo sales took it over the top. 793 detached homes sold in May, up 0.5%, but it was the 195 condo sales - up 28.3% - that made the difference. "Condo sales have been lagging over the past several years," says Jim Holody, President of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS®, "so we knew there was pent-up demand. What we're seeing here . . . and last month when they were up as well, is a market correction – a very positive one in light of the important role condos play in the housing mix."

Home ownership is part of the 'Canadian Dream' say 90% of Ontarians, but a Municipal Land Transfer Tax (MLTT), like the one imposed in Toronto, would stand in the way of this dream for seven in ten Ontarians, if it were imposed in their municipality, according to new research from the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA). In light of the unfolding provincial election, Ontario REALTORS® are raising awareness around the MLTT's restrictions on home ownership and its negative economic impacts to ensure it does not spread to municipalities outside of Toronto.

April saw the condo market rebound to more normal levels. 170 condos sold last month, up 18.1% from the previous year. "The market for condos has been unusually slow over the last year," says Jim Holody, President of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS®. "However, the five year average for condo sales in April is 158.2, so we're not far in excess of that. This apparent uptick in sales is probably more like a market correction."

LSTAR held its 2013 Annual General Meeting on April 22, 2014, at the London Convention Centre. Representing the Canadian Real Estate Association were that Association's Past President, Laura Leyser, and Mike Carson, Director-at-Large and a Past President of LSTAR. Representing the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) were its President (and LSTAR Past President) Costa Poulopoulos and Western Area Director Anna Vozza. The Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS® was represented by its President, Bill Courtney, while the Ontario REALTORS Care Foundation was represented by Barb Whitney, also an LSTAR Past President. The Real Estate Council of Ontario was represented by Tom Wright, President/CEO, Bruce Matthews, Deputy Registrar, and RECO Director Peter Hoffman, another LSTAR Past President. CMHC was represented by Judy Binder.

The following article was written by Joseph Richer, registrar of the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), and was published, originally, in the "Toronto Star" on April 3, 2014. Joseph Richer oversees and enforces all rules governing real estate professionals in Ontario.

Despite temperatures that continued to dip well below average for the month of March, there were signs that Spring had finally arrived for a region that had remained locked in a deep freeze over one of the coldest, snowiest and longest winters on record – real estate sold signs! In March 2014, 548 detached homes sold, up 10.7%, along with 118 condos, up 0.9%. Altogether 666 homes exchanged hands, up 8.8%. “In addition to the fact that the Spring market typically kicks into action in March, there was a lot of demand pent up over the unusually severe winter,” says Jim Holody, President of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR). “Those are the reasons we're seeing these higher numbers.”

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