The Chatham-Kent residential real estate market looks promising for buyers heading into the busy spring market, an area realtors group says.
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The 106 homes sold in March through the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors (CKAR) Multiple Listing Service matched sales in March 2023, monthly association figures show.
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But home sales were 16.8 per cent below the five-year average and 9.7 per cent below the 10-year average for March, CKAR said.
On a year-to-date basis, home sales over the first three months of this year totaled 258 units, up 13.2 per cent from a year ago.
March’s 225 new listings were down three from the year before.
“Although home sales and new listings were flat on a year-over-year basis, both. . . measures are showing a steady improvement on a monthly basis and continue to strengthen heading into what is traditionally the busiest time of the year,” CKAR president Carrie Patrick said.
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“Overall supply levels are at historical norms and still rising as sellers eagerly continue to list their homes in anticipation of what now feels like the long-awaited return of demand,” she added.
“Once buyers decide to return to the market, they will find that ample choice awaits them, and we will likely see a period of modest price growth as this inventory is gradually absorbed.”
The average price of homes sold in March was $407,197, down two per cent from March 2023, CKAR said.
The year-to-date average price was $406,275, off 1.9 per cent from the first three months of 2023.
Dollar value of all home sales last month was $43.2 million, down two per cent from a year ago.
While new listings in March were down slightly from last year, overall, new listings were 15.9 per cent above the five-year average and 24.1 per cent above the 10-year average for the month.
There were 388 active residential listings at the end of March, up 9.6 per cent from the end of March 2023.
“Active listings haven’t been this high in the month of March in more than five years,” CKAR said.
Active listings were 75.7 per cent above the five-year average and 39.5 per cent above the 10-year average for March.
There were 3.7 months of inventory at the end of March, up from 3.3 months a year ago and above the long-term average of 2.6 months for the time of year. The figure indicates how long it would take to sell current inventories at current sales rates.
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