Home sales in the London and St. Thomas regions aren’t following the typical trend of a bustling fall season, as September has brought a decline in activity.
The bright side for buyers is that prices are falling, and there are more choices available.
According to data from the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR), three out of every ten listings sold in September, totaling 534 homes.
This shift has pushed London into “buyer’s market” territory, where 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/ )
The average price of a home also saw a drop from summer levels, with residents in London paying about $622,805 on average. In August, that figure was over $28,000 higher at $651,329.
Marsh believes potential buyers might be feeling anxious due to concerns over tariffs and their effect 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 points out that since the Bank of Canada lowered interest rates to 2.5 percent in September, it could encourage more people to jump into buying.
“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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