The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sharp decrease in home sales in the-London area.
Figures released by the London St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) show 469 homes were sold last month, a 55.4 per cent drop compared to April 2019.
"As anticipated, the volume of sales was one of the lowest for April since the association started tracking data, back in 1978," LSTAR President Blair Campbell said in a statement. "However, when analyzing these figures, one has to take into account a few facts: at the beginning of April, the Government of Ontario prohibited open houses, many sellers decided to postpone putting their properties on the market and many realtors stopped trading in order to protect their families and their clients."
Campbell predicts the housing market will "gradually" rebound once the provincial government re-opens the economy.
The number of homes listed last month was also down. Only 738 homes were placed on the market, which is a 50.3 per cent decrease from April of last year.
The overall average home price was up slightly over last year to $423,143 in April. That is down from $447,152 in March.
"Looking at London's three main geographic areas, London south saw the highest number of home sales last month, while London north saw the biggest price gain compared to April 2019," Campbell said.
The average price of a home in north London was $530,499, up 4.6 per cent over the same month a year ago. In east London, average home prices were up 3.7 per cent to $353,009 and in south London, which includes figures from the west-end, the average cost of a home was down 1.6 per cent to 428,479 over April of last year.
In St. Thomas, the average selling price was up 3.1 per cent from the same month the previous year to 367,566.
Homes in the London region were on the market for on average 14 days, nearly double the number of days they were listed before being sold in April 2019.
Home sales in the London region had been soaring since the start of the year with area realtors marking their second-best January on record, falling just 22 sales shy of matching their best February to-date and March sales on par with the 10-year average.
