Home sales in the London and St. Thomas areas aren’t following the typical trend of a busy fall season, as September showed a slowdown in the market.
The silver lining for buyers is that prices are going down, and there are more choices available.
According to data from the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR), only three out of ten listings sold in September, amounting to 534 homes.
This situation has pushed London into what’s known as a “buyer’s market,” where available listings now exceed sales.
“Typically, the fall is the second busiest time in the London-St. Thomas region for the number of sales, spring being the busiest,” LSTAR chair Dale Marsh said. “In July and August, people had some pent-up demand, and those months were actually fantastic. Then for some reason, September has kind of stalled out on us.”
Dale Marsh is chair of the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors. (Jack Sutton/CBC News)
The average price for a home also decreased from summer figures, with residents in London paying around $622,805. In August, that average sale price was over $28,000 higher at $651,329.
Marsh believes buyers are feeling uneasy due to potential tariffs and their effects on jobs in southwestern Ontario.
“We have a lot of automotive jobs and agricultural jobs, and those seem to be some of the hardest hit job sectors in our region. So I think some [potential buyers] are just nervous,” Marsh said.
He also mentions that the Bank of Canada lowered interest rates to 2.5 percent in September, which could encourage people to buy.
“Get your pre-approvals done, get your ducks in a row, and there are a lot of opportunities out there with so many listings on the market to look at,” Marsh said.
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