Home sales in Chatham-Kent continue slow, steady recovery: CKAR

Home sales across Chatham-Kent remained below average in May, but a healthy number of new listings are a positive sign for the future.

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors totaled 130 units in May, a decline of 12 sales from May 2022, according to monthly statistics released by CKAR.

Home sales were 5.7 per cent below the five-year average and 8.1 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of May, said CKAR. On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 486 units over the first five months of the year. This was down sharply by 25.2 per cent from the same period in 2022.

“Sales activity continues moving generally upward on a month-over-month basis, buoyed by very healthy levels of new listings coming onto the market,” said CKAR president Matt Bechard in the release.

“As we move past the beginning of the downturn from last year it is likely that year-over-year declines will turn into year-over-year gains for sales,” he added.

“On the supply side, unlike other local areas that are struggling with a lack of inventory, our market remains well-supplied for buyers who are looking for an ample selection of options from which to choose for their next home,” Bechard said.

The 264 new residential listings in May was the largest number of new listings added in the month of May in more than a decade, said CKAR. New listings were 19.3 per cent above the five-year average and 20.2 per cent above the 10-year average for the month of May.

Active residential listings numbered 356 units on the market at the end of May, up substantially by 67.1 per cent from the end of May 2022.

Active listings haven’t been this high in the month of May in more than five years, CKAR said.

Active listings were 53.6 per cent above the five-year average and 2.8 per cent above the 10-year average for the month of May.

The average price of homes sold in May was $435,114, a decrease of 8.6% from May 2022.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $426,653, a decline of 14.5 per cent from the first five months of 2022, reports CKAR.

The dollar value of all home sales in May 2023 was $56.6 million, falling 16.3 per cent from the same month in 2022.

Months of inventory numbered 2.7 at the end of May 2023, up from the 1.5 months recorded at the end of May 2022 and above the long-run average of 2.5 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.