Area Home Sales Plummet. Donald Trump May be to black

The US Threat of Tariffs on Canadian Products Appears to Have Weighed Heavoy On Local Home Buyers in January, with Sales in the Region Down by 20 per cent to the same Month Last Year.

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In Total, 370 Homes Were Sold Last Month in the London Area, According to Figures Released Tuesday by the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors.

The slow start to the year stands in slarp contrast with How 2024 Ended, with the Local Market Surpassing 8,000 Homes Sold for the First Time in Three Years. There were also expectations for a strong 2025 as interest drops drop.

Last weekend, the bank of Canada delivered its latest interests, reducing its policy rate by a quarter point to three per cent. The cut, the Central Bank’s Sixth Conseiscive One Sale June, Came as the Bank Said Inflation is at About Two per cent.

“I think there’s some nervous excitely out there in the market,” Said Dale Marsh, Lstar’s flesh. “There’s a lot of pent-up demand with Buyers who Have Been Sitting in the wings for probably a few years now.

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“But at the same time, we had the threat of us tariffs. . . So there’s also a lot of Wait-And-See to see what’s Going to Happen. ”

Trump on saturday signed an order to impose 25 per hundred tariffs on mexican and canadian imports, with a lower 10 per hundred tariff on canadian energy.

On Monday, Following Two Phone Calls With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump Said the Tariffs Would Be Delayed for at Least 30 Days to see the Two Countries Could Reach a “Final Economic Deal.

In A Social Media Post, Trudeau Outlined His Government’s $ 1.3 Billion Plan to Address Trump’s Stated Concerns About Border Security That Canada Unveiled in December. He also Said about 10,000 Front-Line Personal “Are and will” be Protecting Canada’s Border, and Announced $ 200 million to Address Fentanyl Trafficking.

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But the Tariffs Delay is not a long-term Comfort for Many Canadians who May See the Tariffs as a Direct Threat to Their Jobs and Livelihoods, Said Diana Mok, An Associate Professor of Real Estate at the University of Guelph.

“This is not just about the housing market on its own but it’s about Household Finances,” She Said. “Housing is such a big investment, and it’s tied to our household budget for a long time. . . So that’s why people are holding back. ”

Mok, who until recently taught at Western UniversitySaid A Drop in Housing Activity was to be expected of the uncertainty created by the tariffs threat, “but the magnitude of How down it can go, no one can predict that.”

The Effect of the Tariffs and the Fear of A Protrated Trade Was Compounded by Two Tough Years For Many Canadians Who Had to Deal With Higher Interest Rates and High Inflation, Making People More Cautious About They Finances and the Decisions they make, Mok Said .

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“We are just starting to recover,” She Said. “We are not in a situation where we completely forgot about What Happened and then, All of A Sudden, we have this shock. We are Still in a Constant State of Adjusting. ”

Marsh Says the Market Will Likely Not Perform to its Full Potential Until the Situation With The Us is Resolved.

“Out there, It’s Still a Balanced Market,” He Said. “But after this tariff pause, hopefully, the government can make them just go away. . . And this Nervousness also goes away. That is always the hope, but only time will tell. ”

The Average Resale Price of A Home For the Region Went Up in January to About $ 639,500 from December 633,000.

While the Number of Sales Dropped Last Month, the Entry-Level Side of the Market Was Active in January, Marsh Says.

“There Seems to Be a Bit of A Divide in the Market and How Different Segments are performing,” He Said. “It Seems that that segment below the Average Price is extremely active right now, whereas aboo that, ouce you hit, say $ 800,000 and up, it’s a little bit slower moving.

With Canadian Press Files

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