According to the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR), a record 1,275 homes were sold in the London and St. Thomas area at an average price of £370,077 ($487,120)
With a record number of home sales in July, the average house price in London (a Canadian city in Ontario) edged ever nearer the £379,862 ($500,000) mark.
I think it’s not a matter of if, it’s when, said Amber Mihm, a mortgage agent with Dominion Lending Centres — Forest City Funding, of the half-million-dollar benchmark.
A record 1,275 homes sold in the London and St. Thomas area in July, with the average price of a home in London hitting £370,077 ($487,120), a 17.5 per cent increase over July 2019, according to the monthly sales report from the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR).
The London housing market’s average selling price topped £303,890 ($400,000) in February, 2019, with expectations — before COVID-19 arrived — it would hit £341,876 ($450,000) in 2020.
I don’t think $500,000 (£379,862) is out of the future outlook by any means, said LSTAR president Blair Campbell.
The overall average home price across the real estate board’s jurisdiction, which includes Middlesex and Elgin counties, increased 19.6 per cent from a year ago to £368,378 ($484,884).
I think there is a chance for a given month this year we could hit $500,000 (£379,862), said Michael Leff, a broker with Royal LePage Triland.
July was LSTAR’s best July on record including an unprecedented 856 London home sales, “a number that is way above the values typically recorded during this summer month,” Campbell said.
A second wave of COVID-19 could result in a slowing of activity, like the first one caused, he said.
Even if we did see a slowdown in London, the reality is we have an inventory shortage, Mihm said.
With little more than a month’s worth of inventory in the city, prices are forced up.
So, then you get multiple offers and competing bidders, which will and would continue to press housing prices more toward the $500,000 (£379,862) mark, she said.
Despite COVID-19, the market continues to be a hot one. Retirees still are fleeing the GTA for greener pastures, Campbell says, a trend which could continue for a decade yet.
Plus many potential buyers are contemplating a future when they may do most of their work from home. This has the effect of clarifying the shortcomings of their current home and enlarging the wish list for a possible new home.
It seems like the market here has adapted to COVID, Campbell said.
