Although home sales exceeded those of January 2013 by 138 units, 2013 continued to be slow out of the gate in February, with 448 detached homes exchanging hands – down 10.4% from February 2012 – and 128 condos – down 6.6%. Altogether sales were down 9.6% from the previous year. However, “February 2012 had 29 days, compared to last month, which had only 28 days,” points out Doug Pedlar, President of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® “You wouldn't think that a day makes much of a difference. However, on February 29 of last year, a total of 27 homes sold – 22 detached homes and 5 condos. If we to have had that extra day this month and the same sales volume, detached homes would be down only 7% and condos 3%, with the total number of homes sold down only 5%.
“ Overall new listings were down 19.6% for detached homes and 13.9% for condos in February. Inventory – the number of active listings at month end – was also down, but less dramatically – by 6.8% overall. “That the market was pretty stagnant in February is bourn out by these numbers,” says Doug. “It wasn't just that there were fewer sales this February than last, it was also that there were fewer listings. There just wasn't as much activity of any sort . . . and, again, the loss of a day has had its impact.”
February was a good month for London's Sister City of St. Thomas. Fifty homes exchanged hands in St. Thomas in February, up 38.9% from the previous year. No homes were sold on February 29, 2012, so these numbers are not skewed. Year-to-Date sales are also up 22.7%. The average price of a home in St. Thomas in February was $197,499, up 4.1% from January 2013, whereas the average price Year-to-Date stands at $193,977, up 1.2%, from December 31, 2012. As was the case in LSTAR's jurisdiction overall, new listings were down in St. Thomas by 21.4%, as was inventory, by 8.3%.
The average price for a detached home in LSTAR's jurisdiction in February 2013 stands at $264,984, up 8.2% compared to January 2013, while the average price for a condo in 2013 stands at $179,050, up 13.3% over January 2012. Year-to-Date the average price of a detached home is $256,175, up 0.7% from December 31, 2012 and the average price of a condo for the same period is $171,181, down 0.1%. The average price for a home of any sort in February stands at $245,888, up 7.1% over the previous month, while the average price of such a home Year-to-Date stands at $238,975, up 0.1% compared with December 31, 2012.
When compared to other major communities across Canada, the London CMA remains very affordable as the following chart illustrates. (The data is from January 2013 and the latest information available.)
The best-selling house in LSTAR's jurisdiction in February 2013 was the two-storey, followed by the bungalow, then the ranch, then the townhouse condominium.
House Style Units Sold Average Price
2 Storey
135
$360,204
Bungalow
79
$183,652
Ranch
71
$300, 161
Townhouse Condo
70
$163,420
