A bit of a rebound was experienced in Sarnia-Lambton's real estate market in September.
Sarnia-Lambton Association of Realtors President Jeremy Guerette said there was an increase in new listings, sales and dollar volume.
"Which isn't unusual," said Guerette. "It's kind of a seasonal thing in the fall. Once the kids went back to school we often would see an increase in listings. So, not a big surprise there. We did see a little bit of a rise in sales activity from August, which again, I was hoping to see."
There were 329 new listings in September, up 28 per cent compared to the same month the year before.
Guerette said 140 sales were recorded, up 43 per cent from September 2023, bringing the dollar volume to just over $70 million for the month.
"Hopefully if we just continue that, and we see a little bit of a drop in the interest rates, we'll start to see some of the inventory start to clear out," he said.
The region had 631 active listings at the end of September.
"I think it's just going to take some time. I think we're going to see another interest rate drop here later in October and probably another one before the end of the year. With those in mind, I think we'll start to see things become a little bit more affordable, some consumer confidence comes back and it will bring the buyers back into the market," said Guerette.
For those thinking of buying, Guerette said now is a great time to get into the market.
"The prices are reasonable, there's lots to choose from, and the rates are dropping," he said. "Even if you purchase something with a little bit of a longer close, by the time you close it your rate would probably be down. So, people have the option of trying a variable rate mortgage to ride the rate down a little bit and then lock in maybe sometime next year."
The average sale price was about $505,000 in September and listings spent about 30 days on the market.
