London, Ontario January Real Estate Market
305 homes exchanged hands in the jurisdiction of the London and St. Thomas Association of
REALTORS® (LSTAR), including 245 detached homes (down 35% from January 2008) and 60condos
(Down 31% from January 2008).
"The decline in home sales last month is directly attributable to two factors: a drop in consumer confidence
due to the downturn in the stock market, not to mention a government in apparent crisis and whole heck of
a lot of snow and cold weather," says Joe Hough, LSTAR President, "A bad month does not mean a bad
year and our January 2008 numbers are only the third lowest for January in a decade where real estate sales
broke record after record. When the dust on the global economic crisis settles . . . and the snow stops flying
what we're going to see in London is a more balanced market, with more opportunities for buyers than
there have been over the last several years."
Year-to-date for 2009, the number of sales and average prices in LSTAR's jurisdiction were:
Type Units Sold Average Price $$ Increase from YTD 2008
Total Detached 245 sold Average price $219,533 Down -2.5% from last year
Total Condo 60 sold Average price $151,695 Down -2.5% from last year
Total Residential 305 sold Average price $206,188 Down -2.8% from last year
Year-to-date, January sales over the last 4 years:
Year Sales
2009 305
2008 466
2007 538
2006 529
January home prices over the last 3 years: 2008 Average Year-to-date Price:
Year Prices
2009 $206,188
2008 $212,219
2007 $196,246
"The average home price is down by 2.5%, but, if you refer to the year-to-date January home prices over
the last 10 years, you'll see that the price is still higher than it was in 2007, which was a very strong year,"
says Hough. "Besides lower prices help balance the market, providing increased opportunities for buyers.
After all, it takes both buyers and sellers to make a market."
The best-selling house style in LSTAR's jurisdiction for the month of January was the bungalow, followed
by the two-storey, and both the townhouse condo and the ranch:
House Style Units Sold Average Price
Bungalow 64 sold Average price $173,942
Two-storey 61 sold Average price $281,629
Townhouse Condo 33 sold Average price $138,665
Ranches 33 sold Average price $259,179
Month Prices
Year to date for January 2009, prices across London1 were:
Area Type 2008 Average Sale Price
(January 1, 2008 - December 31, 2008)
2009 YTD %
North Total Detached $276,945
Total Condo $187,166
South Total Detached $246,540
Total Condo $135,533
East Total Detached $185,453
Total Condo $138,301
Homes in LSTAR's jurisdiction continue to maintain their affordability compared to other major Ontario
and Canadian centres. Below are some national comparisons
London and St. Thomas was $212,092;
Calgary was $405,267;
Durham Region was $272,429;
Edmonton was $332,852;
Hamilton-Burlington and District was $280,790;
Kitchener-Waterloo was $271,222;
Ottawa was $290,483;
St. Catherine's & District was $222,104;
Toronto was $379,943; and
Greater Vancouver was $593,767.
The 2009 Federal Budget includes a change to the Home Buyers' Plan: first time homebuyers will now be
able to withdraw up to $25,000 from their RRSP to be used in a down payment on a residential property.
Another good motivator for renters is that the City of London has eased its criteria for the Home Assistance Program. You can receive your 5% down payment and up to 1% of your purchase price to cover closing costs. If you are a renter and purchase a house or condo in London or Middlesex County before March 31, 2009, the purchase price must be $140,000 or less and you must qualify for a mortgage from a financial institution.
As you can see from our January stats, there is a great choice of condos and houses in London under $140,000!
Homes are still selling as our London economy is diverse and stable. London house prices do not have major swings like other Canadian cities and brick to brick we have some of the best values around!
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