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Homes sales in the London region picked up for a second straight month in October, signalling more buyers are willing to pull the trigger on purchases amid lower interest rates, the latest housing market snapshot shows.
A total of 661 homes exchanged hands in October, 135 more than in the same month last year, the London St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) reported Tuesday.
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Though the uptick in sales is a positive sign that buyer confidence may be rising, demand is still far from the levels seen even before the COVID-19 pandemic, especially considering 2023 was the lowest year for home sales in the London area in more than 20 years.
At the same time, the number of listings continued to rise last month, with 1,388 new homes entering the market, an increase of 10 per cent, and pushing the London market closer into buyers’ territory.
Kathy Amess, LSTAR’s chair for 2024, described the uptick in sales figures as “encouraging” considering the country’s economic climate.
“It shows that our market is adapting well to current economic conditions,” she said in a statement. “The availability of more active listings is a positive development, providing buyers with more choices and helping to balance the market.”
The higher number of listings may also help explain the stability of home prices, which dropped slightly in October.
According to LSTAR, the average resale price of a home in the London area, which also takes in Strathroy, St. Thomas and portions of Middlesex and Elgin counties, was $623,189. That represents a drop of more than $18,000, or three per cent, from September. It’s essentially the same price as October 2023.
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Though Canada’s central bank brought its key interest rate down by half a percentage point to 3.75 per cent last month, analysts believe the full effects of the cuts won’t be felt in the Canadian housing market until next year.
“We are optimistic about the future,” Amess said.
“We haven’t had time for the marketplace to realize the full effects from the Bank of Canada rate decrease last month so we look forward to seeing where things go in the next while. October does indicate that we are heading in the right direction.”
jjuha@postmedia.com
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