September Home Sales Continue Cooling Trend

The local housing market continued to cool off in September, with 497 homes exchanging hands via the MLS® System of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS®(LSTAR). Housing supply made a healthy gain from 2.7 months of inventory in August to 3.4 months of inventory in September, showing more signs of market stabilization.

“An additional interest rate hike, the fifth one so far in 2022, continues to impact home sales activity,” said 2022 LSTAR President Randy Pawlowski. “We are experiencing increased inventory levels, indicating a more balanced marketplace. For historical perspective, the 3.4 months of inventory is the highest recorded for the month of September, since September 2015.”

The average home sales price and composite MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Benchmark Price both edged slightly down from August to September. LSTAR’s overall average home price fell from $648,036 in August to $635,256 in September. The composite MLS® HPI Benchmark Price saw a marginal decrease from $599,500 in August to $596,900 in September. The data represents a trend the majority of local real estate markets are seeing across the country, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

“Although the market is slowly stabilizing, it’s important to remember that every home transaction is unique,” Pawlowski said. “As the market evolves, your local REALTOR® can provide support on how to navigate this changing environment, with real-time data and professional guidance.”

The following table shows how September’s average home sales prices in LSTAR’s main regions compared to the benchmark prices for the same areas.

Area	September 2022 MLS® HPI Benchmark Price	September 2022 Average Price
Central Elgin	$601,400	$675,231
London East	$487,900	$495,326
London North	$713,000	$759,555
London South	$591,000	$614,261
Middlesex Centre	$839,600	$1,025,445
St. Thomas	$508,800	$541,569
Strathroy-Caradoc	$719,100	$733,215
LSTAR	$596,900	$635,256

“The single-family home remained the most popular style choice for local home buyers with 365 units sold, while apartments had the largest gain in average price, up 8.3% over the same time a year ago,” Pawlowski said.

The following table shows the September benchmark prices for all housing types in LSTAR’s jurisdiction and how they stack up against the values from the previous year.

MLS® Home price Index Benchmark Prices
BENCHMARK TYPE	SEPTEMBER 2022	CHANGE OVER SEPTEMBER 2021
LSTAR Composite	$596,900	↓1.3%
LSTAR Single-Family	$641,000	↓1.1%
LSTAR One Storey	$578,900	↓0.2%
LSTAR Two Storey	$683,500	↓1.5%
LSTAR Townhouse	$496,200	↓2.4%
LSTAR Apartment	$390,800	↓0.8%

“When compared to other values recorded provincially and nationally, homes in our area continue to remain relatively affordable,” Pawlowski said. The following chart shows HPI benchmark prices for September, courtesy of CREA.

According to a research report¹ by Altus Group, a total of $73,250 in ancillary expenditures is generated by the average housing transaction in Ontario over a period of three years from the date of purchase. “That means the September home sales could potentially bring more than $36 million in spin-off spending to our local economy over the next three years.” Pawlowski said.