London/St Thomas Association of Realtors has released stat information for the end of August. The market is still doing well. Homes are selling. We are in a much more balanced market now compared to past years. Below is the official news release. For a complete stat pack, click HERE.
I bolded two important parts - 1st showing the real estate market is having a very healthy year. And the second showing why we are in a balanced market (buyers having more selection making it easier to buy) with the continued large number of homes sales.
Last month, 762 homes exchanged hands in the jurisdiction of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR), including 607 detached homes (down 11.8% from August 2007) and 155 condos (down 15.3%). Year to date, 5,043 detached homes and 1,307 condos have been sold - down 9.2% and 10.2% respectively compared to the same period in 2007.
"It's important to keep these direct comparisons to last year's figures in perspective," advises Bruce Sworik, LSTAR President. "A total 9,378 homes were sold in 2007, making it far and away the best year for real estate sales since our Association began keeping records in 1978; the previous record of 8,916 sales was set in 2006. Between January and August 2007, a total 7,009 homes had already been sold - 442 units more than during the same period in 2004 (the next highest total). Sales so far this year may be down 9.4% compared to the same period in 2007, but 2008 has actually seen our third-best February, our second-best May (also our third best month ever) and our second-best July on record! Year to date sales are just 3.3% below the five-year sales average and currently stand 6.5% above the ten-year average."
Homes in LSTAR's jurisdiction continue to maintain their affordability compared to other major Ontario and Canadian centres. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association's Major Market Release for July 2008 (the most current available), the average price January 1, 2008 - July 31, 2008 year to date for:
London and St. Thomas was $213,705;
Calgary was $414,213;
Durham Region was $274,525;
Edmonton was $338,511;
Hamilton-Burlington and District was $285,065;
Kitchener-Waterloo was $273,473;
Ottawa was $293,385;> St. Catharines & District was $221,646;
Toronto was $387,470; and
Greater Vancouver was $610,306.
"The number of new listings of homes for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) eased in August 2008, down 18.2% from the 1,568 new listings taken in July. However, new listings are up 3.7% compared to August 2007," observes Sworik. "More significantly, our active listings - the number of listings which are active on the MLS® at the end of the recording period, in this case, August 31, 2008 - currently stand at 3,543, up 25.5% over the same time last year."
Sworik adds: "Compared to this time last year, listings are up, average prices are up, and sales are down by less than 10% from that record-breaking total of 7,009 unit sales ... we'll take it! There's certainly no real estate bubble bust taking place here in LSTAR's jurisdiction!"
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