London Real Estate Market Is Down a Little in July

Last month, 904 homes exchanged hands in the jurisdiction of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR), a 4.8-per-cent decrease over July 2008.

This includes 734 detached homes (down 1.2 per cent from July 2008) and 170 condos (down 17.9 per cent from July 2008). Year to date, 4,026 detached homes and 923 condos have been sold – down 9.3 per cent and 19.9 per cent respectively compared to the same period in 2008.

Sales in St. Thomas continue to stabilize – 72 homes exchanged hands in July 2009, a 2.9-per-cent increase over July 2008. The average residential price year-to-date in St. Thomas is $183,571, a 1.3-per-cent decrease over last year.

Although July sales decreased 4.8 per cent over the same period last year, the average residential price for July 2009 actually increased by 4.1 per cent to $219,260.

“Sales momentum remains strong going into the second half of 2009,” says Dale Ripplinger, President of The Canadian Real Estate Association. “Chances are good that the number of transactions in the second half of 2009 will surpass levels in the first half of the year.”

The number of sales and average prices year-to-date for July 2009 were:

The best-selling house style in LSTAR’s jurisdiction for the month of July was the two-storey, followed by the bungalow, the ranch, and the townhouse condo:

 Active listings are down which in turn has balanced out the market so that it is neither a buyer's or sellers market. There are pockets of London and South West Ontario which are not balanced and the wise buyer or seller can use this situation to their advantage.