London area home sales, average price fall in July as inventory rises

Just 640 homes changed hands as the average price for a home in the London and St. Thomas area fell for the second consecutive month in July, a new market snapshot shows.

The average price dipped slightly to $668,821 and the number of home sales dropped by more than 100 homes last month, figures released Thursday from the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) show.

The inventory, or number of homes for sale, increased from a little more than two months supply in June to nearly three months last month, according to LSTAR’s figures.

During that same period, 1,333 new listings were added to the market, up 8.2 per cent from 2022.

“In July 2023, LSTAR’s overall sales-to-new-listings ratio sat at 48 per cent, indicating a fairly balanced market,” president Adam Miller said in a news release.

Higher borrowing costs triggered by the Bank of Canada’s latest interest rate increase to five per cent in July – the 10th rate hike in the last 18 months – “barely put a dent” in sales and prices, Miller said.

“This speaks not only to the local market’s appeal and resilience, but also to the huge demand for housing sparked by the increased immigration, which, according to a recent study, reached unprecedented levels in the last 12 months,” he added.

The number of homes sold last month is 19.6 per cent higher than in July 2022.

Single-family homes were most popular with 471 sold, while 110 condominium and townhouses and 51 apartment condominiums changed hands.

At the top of the price list were single-family homes with an average of $734,234, followed by $546,569 for townhouse condos and $383,647 for apartment condos.