2020 proved to be the second-best year for home sales in the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR) history with 9,976 homes changing hands last year, with 596 sales alone in December, a record!
The increased demand, coupled with an already low inventory, pushed the home prices up in all five main regions of LSTAR. The following table shows last month’s benchmark prices by area and how they compare to the values recorded at the end of December 2019.
| Area | December 2020 MLS® HPI Benchmark Price | Change over December 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Central Elgin | $473,000 | ↑ 27.3% |
| London East | $418,200 | ↑ 25.2% |
| London North | $589,600 | ↑ 20.8% |
| London South | $475,400 | ↑ 22.2% |
| Middlesex Centre | $725,300 | ↑ 20.1% |
| St. Thomas | $392,500 | ↑ 30.3% |
| Strathroy-Caradoc | $571,800 | ↑ 22.2% |
The HPI benchmark price is different than the average price of a home. This reflects the value of a ‘typical home’ assigned by buyers from certain areas based on various housing attributes. Depending on how the home features you are considering match these standards, the property’s value will be higher or lower than the benchmark price.
In December 2020, the Aggregate Composite Benchmark price for the entire London-St. Thomas area was $483,900, while the overall LSTAR average price sat at $555,324.
At the end of December, the average home price in London North was $673,872, up 29.3% compared to December 2019. In London South, it was $584,997, 24.6% over the previous year, while London East saw its average home price climb to $434,195, up 25.2% over a year ago.
In St. Thomas, the average sales price was $440,557, up 10.6% over December 2019.
Out of the 596 houses sold last month by LSTAR REALTORS®, 440 were single-family homes, 76 were townhouses and 52 were apartments. The table below shows the December benchmark prices for all house types and how they stack up against the values from a year ago.
| MLS® Home Price Index Benchmark Prices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Benchmark Type | December 2020 | Change over December 2019 |
| LSTAR Composite | $483,900 | ↑ 23.5% |
| LSTAR Single-Family | $530,200 | ↑ 26.6% |
| LSTAR One Storey | $465,100 | ↑ 21.2% |
| LSTAR Two Storey | $596,600 | ↑ 29.7% |
| LSTAR Townhouse | $353,100 | ↑ 11.5% |
| LSTAR Apartment | $284,800 | ↑ 15.9% |
Despite these notable price increases, our area’s homes continue to remain relatively affordable compared to houses from some other major Ontario and Canadian centres. The following chart is based on data taken from the CREA National Price Map for November 2020.
According to a research report1, a total of $73,250 in ancillary expenditures is generated by the average housing transaction in Ontario over a period of three years from the date of purchase.
