Homes sales keep sliding in Chatham-Kent, but the inventory of homes for sale keeps getting better for buyers, according to the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors (CKAR).
On Monday, the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors reported that home sales were slow but stable last month.
CKAR said 92 homes were sold in November 2022, a substantial reduction of 39.5 per cent from November 2021. The Association also reported that home sales were 18.9 per cent below the five-year average and 10 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of November. The number of homes sold so far this year was also lower than usual, according to the Association. CKAR said on a year-to-date basis, 1,271 homes were sold in Chatham-Kent over the first 11 months of this year, a decrease of 25.4 per cent from the same period in 2021.
"Home sales are still running well below typical levels for this time of year, although the monthly trend is showing signs of improvement since the market bottomed out in June," said CKAR President Amber Pinsonneault. "On the supply side, new listings have been coming in at some of the strongest levels in history, building on momentum that began in late 2020. Combined with subdued demand, this has raised overall inventory levels up from their record lows earlier this year back on par with where they stood in the third quarter of 2016. A better supplied market with a balance tilted in favour of buyers should start to see some would-be home buyers come back off the sidelines as we move into early 2023."
The average price of a home is also starting to rise. The realtor's association noted the average price of a home sold last month was $386,383, down sharply by 13.8 per cent from November 2021, but the year-to-date average price was $464,453, an increase of 11.1 per cent from the first 11 months of 2021.
Realtors in Chatham-Kent sold a total of $35.5 million worth of homes last month, a big decline of 47.8 per cent from the same month in 2021.
The number of new homes for sale edged up 0.6 per cent (one listing) from November 2021. CKAR said 171 homes were listed for sale in November 2022, the largest number of new listings added in the month of November in more than two decades. New listings were 22.5 per cent above the five-year average and 29.6 per cent above the 10- year average for the month of November, according to Pinsonneault and her team. CKAR also noted there were 359 homes for sale at the end of November, which is more than double the level from a year earlier, surging 133.1 per cent from the end of November a year ago.
"Active listings haven't been this high in the month of November in more than five years," Pinsonneault said.
She said active listings last month were 75 per cent above the five-year average and 13.1 per cent above the 10-year average.
