The London and St Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR) announced another milestone for residential sales across the region, with the best January results since LSTAR began tracking sales data in 1978. A total of 574 homes were sold in January, an increase of 26.2% over last January.
"We're off to a tremendous start this year with our best January ever," said Jim Smith, LSTAR 2017 President. "The trend of high demand and low supply continues, with January experiencing a 12.2% decrease in the number of listings compared to the previous year. Those thinking of selling may want to consider maximizing the current market conditions."
In January, a total of 434 detached homes were sold, an increase of 15.1 % over the previous year, while there were 140 condominium sales, up 79.5% from 2016. The average sales price was $285,418, up 0.5% from the previous month.
"We saw a huge boost in condominium sales, with almost double the number of units sold in 2017," Smith said. "It represents very robust activity happening in the condominium market, again with less listings available compared to 2016."
St. Thomas also had a very healthy January, with a total of 55 homes sold, up 139.1% from the same time last year. The average home price in St. Thomas was $192,474, down 28.1% from the previous month.
The best-selling house style in January continues to be the two-storey, followed by the bungalow and ranch. The average price for a detached home in January was $313,879, up 2.3% from the previous month, while the average price for a condominium was $197,190, up 2.8% from the previous month.
|
House Style |
Units Sold |
Average Price |
|---|---|---|
| 2 storey | 128 | $407,000 |
| Bungalow | 58 | $229,599 |
| Ranch | 37 | $362,543 |
| Townhouse | 64 | $157,469 |
| High rise apt. condo | 36 | $158,775 |
The following table is based on data taken from the Canadian Real Estate Association's (CREA) National MLS® Report for December 2016 (the latest statistics available). It provides a snapshot of how average home prices in London and St. Thomas compare to other major Ontario and Canadian centres.
|
City |
Average Sale Price |
|---|---|
| Vancouver | $972,529 |
| Toronto | $773,251 |
| Fraser Valley | $642,233 |
| Victoria | $581,915 |
| Hamilton | $515,001 |
| Calgary | $482,863 |
| Kitchener-Waterloo | $425,548 |
| Ottawa | $398,557 |
| Edmonton | $363,928 |
| Saskatoon | $339,993 |
| Niagara | $325,100 |
| London St. Thomas | $288,748 |
| Canada | $486,388 |
According to a research report1, one job is created for every three real estate transactions and approximately $53,000 in ancillary spending is generated every time a home changes hands in Ontario. "Real estate is providing a huge boost to the local economy," Smith said. "When we look at January, that means residential sales created 191 jobs and more than $30 million was generated into the local economy."
1 Economic Impacts of MLS® System Home Sales and Purchases in Canada and the Provinces, Altus Group Consulting, 2013
