Wednesday 6 January 2016

Market Update London Area 2015

London and Area Market Overview 
for Residential Homes:
Sales increased across our Real Estate Board Jurisdiction by a whopping 8.5% when compared to 1 year ago.  The average price of a home in the area, for this 12 month period, rose by $11,906  or another +4.4%.  The average house price across Middlesex and Elgin including all major centres now will cost the average buyer $281,016.   Still one on the most affordable Major markets in Canada.

Will this trend continue? Traditional year over year inventories declined marginally.  This is also true of the last 2 months of the year.  This means prices should continue to rise marginally and will also depend on what comes to market for sale in the Spring and Summer of 2016.  The Bank of Canada appears not to be pushing up interest rates significantly in Canada and have implemented programs to slow down Markets like Vancouver and Toronto using CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation).   These changes will not affect the average buyer in London.  It remains an excellent time to move up or buy that first home.

City of London:
The average house price in the city of London now sits at $295,096, this represents an increase in value of 4.8% or $13,507 over the last 12 months.   The number of homes that sold across the city during this same period increased by 7.8%.  Looking ahead there is no doubt that 2016 is poised for another year of great performance. Looking at the last 2 months individually we found that the number of homes that sold remained relatively flat with 2014 numbers, but the average selling price in each month rose once again, up 4.8% in November and 10.8% in December. December year end inventories at the same time, (what Consumers have to choose from) finished down by 16.4%.

London South: 
The average house price for London South (below Oxford), has now broken the $300,000 threshold for the first time.  The average home now sits up 5.94% versus a year ago at $305,647. The average home owner made $17,025 during the last 12 month in increased home equity.  Inventories of homes available for sale in London South were lower and down 5.9% for the year. This resulted in only a 3.7% increase in unit sales while delivering the higher home price for the area due to few homes to choose from. This reduction in available homes for purchase pushed the Sales/Listing ratio up from a 56% chance of selling your home during the listing period to a 62% chance of selling your home during the listing period. London south was the hottest segment of London in 2015.  The trend is likely to continue in 2016 as the number of homes listed for sale in the South in December declined by 26.4% once again putting pressure on inventory in the South.

London North:
The North continues to grow year over year,  This area had the highest growth on Inventories for the year increasing by 9.4%, keeping the market competitive by giving the Consumer lots of choices.  This tempered the growth in pricing of the average home but still delivered an solid increase of 2.83% or $9,535 in average value for the area. The average home price now sits at $346,638 for the area. Sales continued Strong because of area desirability, up 11.7% versus a year ago.  Prices in the North are projected to grow marginally as it appears once again inventories and sales will stay in balance with lots to choose from.  New Listings of homes offered for sale in December 2015 were up over December 2014 by a whopping  53.6%. If this increase in homes offered for sale continues each month values will increase only marginally,  A balanced market is ideal for all parties involved, excellent value and reasonable return on equity.

London East:
The East of London (basically east of Richmond except below Hamilton Road) continues to be the most affordable part of London and area. The average house price now sits at $222,192 up 3.59% or $7,699 versus the previous 12 months. The East enjoyed the second highest percentage growth in number of homes sold during the calendar year increasing by 6.4%.  There has been pressure on inventories in this area similar to the South.  The number of homes coming to market in the East actually declined by 6.8% over the twelve month period.   This reduction in the number of homes to choose from helped to drive prices upward.  Listings coming to market in December 2015 were down 10% versus the previous year.  This will marginally assist value improvement in this area for current home owners if this trend continues.   The Sell to Listing Ratio (chance of securing a sale during the listing period) is the highest in the city at 66%