LSTAR‘s News Release for March 2022

March Sees Record Number of Listings, but Inventory Remains Low

1,049 homes were sold in March 2022 in the London-St. Thomas area via LSTAR‘s MLS® System. During the same time frame, 1,544 listings came on the local market, which makes last month the March with the highest number of listings in the history of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS®.

“Despite the record number of listings, our inventory – the number of active listings at month end – saw just a slight increase from last month, creeping up from 0.5 months to only 0.6,” said Randy Pawlowski, 2022 LSTAR President. “The sales-to-new-listings ratio for the entire jurisdiction of LSTAR was 67.9%, much lower than a year ago, but still indicating a Sellers’ market,” he continued. “The latest interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada may have put a damper on what has been so far a truly fierce competition among local home buyers,” he explained.

In March, the overall average price for all home types in our area was $823,954, whereas LSTAR‘s composite MLS® Home Price Index Benchmark Price sat at $774,200. “These figures suggest that the pace of home price gains might have started to slow down in our area,” Pawlowski said. “It’s way too early to predict the impact of this new measure, but Ontario Government’s recent decision to increase the non-resident speculation tax to 20% and expand it throughout the whole province might also help tame home prices,” he added.

The following table shows how March’s average home sales prices in LSTAR‘s five main regions compare to the benchmark prices for the same areas.

Area	March 2022 MLS® HPI Benchmark Price	March 2022 Average Price
Central Elgin	$826,600	$927,880
London East	$685,600	$669,005
London North	$894,800	$947,700
London South	$770,100	$823,904
Middlesex Centre	$1,085,800	$1,228,124
St. Thomas	$665,200	$728,860
Strathroy-Caradoc	$869,200	$860,138
LSTAR	$774,200	$823,954

Out of the 1,049 units sold last month, 756 were single-family homes, 140 – condo townhouses, and 107 – apartments.

“In March, the average price for a single-family home in LSTAR‘s jurisdiction sat at $894,306, that of a condo – at $692,187 and the overall average price for an apartment – at $501,961,” Pawlowski said. “Regarding condo townhouses, it’s interesting to see how well they are selling and how much their benchmark price has appreciated in the last year: last month was LSTAR‘s second-best March for condominium sales and the MLS® HPI benchmark price for a local apartment has grown by 49.7% over a year ago,” he noted.

The following table shows the March benchmark prices for all housing types in LSTAR‘s jurisdiction and how they compare with the values from a year ago.

MLS® Home Price Index Benchmark Prices
Benchmark Type	March 2022	Change over March 2021
LSTAR Composite	$774,200	↑ 35.9%
LSTAR Single-Family	$831,100	↑ 33.4%
LSTAR One Storey	$777,900	↑ 40.1%
LSTAR Two Storey	$884,700	↑ 29.3%
LSTAR Townhouse	$638,700	↑ 49.7%
LSTAR Apartment	$445,100	↑ 36.5%

“The latest figures achieved by LSTAR‘s HPI benchmark prices and average sale prices place our area somewhere in the middle of the Canadian home affordability scale,” Pawlowski observed. The following table is based on data provided by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) for March 1^st, 2022.

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LSTAR’s News Release for April 2021

Home Sales Remain Strong in April

The London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR) announced 1,231 homes exchanged hands last month, the highest number of home sales recorded via the MLS® system for the month of April since the Association began tracking data in 1978.

“We are encouraged by the strong sales numbers, as the spring market ramps up,” said LSTAR 2021 President Jack Lane. “Year-to-date sales are also performing ahead of 2020. At the end of April, there have been 3,918 sales, up more than 57% over the same period last year.”

LSTAR’s regions, like many others across the province, are experiencing some of the lowest inventory levels seen in the past 10 years. Combined with a high demand, these dynamics have contributed to a very robust marketplace, with numerous situations of multiple offers and properties being sold for considerably more than their listing prices.

“It’s important for the public to understand that every transaction is different, based on housing type, housing features, geographical location and many other factors,” Lane said. “Each transaction is unique and does not necessarily represent activity across the entire marketplace.”

The following table shows last month’s MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) benchmark prices by area and how they compare to the average sales prices. The HPI benchmark price reflects the value of a “typical home” as assigned by buyers in a certain area based on various housing attributes, while the average sales price is calculated by adding all the sale prices for homes sold and dividing that total by the number of homes sold. Since averages may be affected by the monthly changes in the mix of sales activity, the HPI benchmark price is a more accurate way to gauge price trends over time.

Area	April 2021 MLS® HPI Benchmark Price	April 2021 Average Price
Elgin	$595,200	$641,366
London East	$505,700	$508,158
London North	$696,700	$755,102
London South	$570,200	$650,472
Middlesex	$859,700	$881,011
St. Thomas	$490,900	$541,255
Strathroy	$691,700	$633,280
LSTAR	$583,400	$643,835

“The pandemic has added another layer to managing the home selling and buying process,” Lane said. “We understand the challenges many potential home buyers are going through right now. A local REALTOR® is always going to be your best resource to help you navigate through this marketplace.”

The single-family home maintains its place as the most popular housing type sold, with 913 sales in April. The table below shows the April benchmark prices for all housing types and how they stack up against the values from a year ago.

MLS® Home Price Index Benchmark Prices
Benchmark Type	April 2021	Change over April 2020
LSTAR Composite	$583,400	↑ 42%
LSTAR Single-Family	$640,300	↑ 47.3%
LSTAR One Storey	$586,300	↑ 46.9%
LSTAR Two Storey	$701,600	↑ 47.5%
LSTAR Townhouse	$444,500	↑ 32.1%
LSTAR Apartment	$295,400	↑ 6.9%

Despite increases to the HPI benchmark price and average sales price, homes in LSTAR’s jurisdiction continue to remain relatively affordable when compared to houses from some other major Ontario and Canadian centres. The following table is based on data taken from the CREA National Price Map for March 2021.