Saturday 12 January 2019

LONDON & ST THOMAS 2018 MARKET REVIEW


City of London:
The number of homes sold this year in the City of London itself improved in the last half finishing -14.4% versus 2017. Remember we started over 30% below last year’s record year.  This year the City of London delivered Home Owners an average minimum of 100.3% of their list price for the year, because of continued limited supply of homes to buy. The number of days that it took to sell the average home in London finished the year at 23 days.





As you can see on the graph above, selling price of homes in the City have risen nicely. In 2017 the Average Selling Price of a Home in London reached $336,038. Home Owners will be pleased to know that this year the Average Selling Price finished above my projection of 5% to 8% and actually finished at $373,269, up 11.1%, or $37,231 for 2018. 

Buyers coming into or Living in London did not like paying more than $600,000 for premium homes. The number of homes sold this year priced between $600K to $700K is 43% lower than homes prices between $500K and 600K. The 500K to 600K range was the most popular range above $450K. Here is a graph that illustrated activity by price this year. Remember this is the top end of our market.

London North:
Sales in London North fished the year down only -15.9% for the 12-month period versus 2017 This is a little more than the City shortfall. The 3rd quarter was very strong. Sales softened in December to -14.7% below 2017. Don’t forget this area has the highest average price. It still only took an average of 23 days to sell a home for the year in this area. Home Owners consistently received an average of 100% of asking price. This indicates multiple offers across the board. 

 

As you can see by the graph above, London North has the highest average selling prices in the City.  The Average Home Selling Price last year reached $408,318 in North London. This year prices for the year have risen +11.2% or a gain of $45,812 for an average Home. The new Average Selling price in North London is now $454,130. One other interesting number to share with you. In September the average selling price based on only 171 homes sales reached an average of $486,640.  See my comments on the London Buyer $600,000 maximum price barrier.  Pricing a home at $599,900 has brought about multiple bidding wars.  As time passes the acceptance of homes priced between $600,000 and $700,000 will become more normal. Remember when Buying, or Selling, look at comparable homes.  Your decision to Sell, or to Buy, will be based on a realistic price. 


We must stress again, that we believe this upward price trend will continue. Following a 49% increase in home sales in November, the month of December cooled off a bit with a 13.8% decrease in the number of homes sold. The number of homes available was still below t months of supply (6 months is considered a market in balance) keeping upward pressure on prices. We recommend that Buyers MOVING UP" or "FIRST TIME BUYERS", do it right now! Sellers that want to "DOWNSIZE" , don't do it now! You are throwing away potential equity gain, unless you must. Remember there are always Equity Mortgages available.

London South:
Sales in London South due to moderate price range have performed better than the North on a year-to-date basis. The decline over last year’s record Sales of Homes finished down only -14.7%.  The number of Home offered for sale still sits at about 5 months of supply.  This is up marginally over the last few months. The number days to sell a house finished the last 12 months at an average of only 21 days.   Because of the continued limited supply of homes for sale, the average Home Owner in the South end of the City of London got an average of 101.1% of their asking price.  This average was holding at 100% for September, October and November. What does all this mean?

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Sale prices for Homes in South London finished up +9.9% above 2017. This represents an average increase in value and equity of $33,602. The average Home in South London now sells for $373,537 up from $339,936 last year. As you can see things are still moving up…the average selling price for the 104 homes that were sold in this area in December 2018, the slowest month of the year hit $417.091.  We must stress again that we believe this upward price trend will continue based on limited availability of homes offered for sale.

We recommend that Buyers “MOVING UP” or “FIRST TIME BUYER”. Do it right now! Sellers that want to “DOWNSIZE” Don’t Do It Now! You are throwing away equity, unless you must. Remember that there are always Equity Mortgage’s available…

London East:
Sales in London East due to lowest average price range in the City have performed better than the rest of our trading area versus 2017. The decline over last year’s record Sales of Homes finished 2018 down only -12.2%.  The number of homes in this area available for sale finished the year still sitting at an average of only 3 months’ supply.  This limited supply of Homes offered for sale has dropped the average number of days it took to sell a Home to an average of 21 days for the year.  London East, having the most economical pricing for the City of London, delivered the Average Home Owner 101.2% of asking price for 2018.


In 2017, the average home price is East London sat at $252,942 for the calendar year.  Prices have now risen across the East by a whopping 14.4% or +$36,355.  This Area continues to be an affordable area for First Time Buyers to get into this crazy Market. The rules here are the same as the rest of the City. If you are a Buyer MOVING UP” or “FIRST TIME BUYER”. Do it right now! Sellers that want to “DOWNSIZE” Don’t Do It Now! You are throwing away potential equity gain, ...No one should be paying a landlord if they can afford to buy! You just lose money. Look at Toronto and other centres of the world.. Most people in these markets tying to enter the market can't afford to do it. Once you are a Homeowner, you are able to maintain your ability to upsize  or keep your costs down as you build equity. 

St.Thomas:

I repeat that I believe St. Thomas is an opportunity Market.  It is apparent that Buyers are picking up on the bargains in this Bedroom Community of City of London.  The number of homes sold in the City of London finished down -14.4%.  St. Thomas finished the year down only 9.8% against last year. The number of homes offered for sale has consistently sat at 3 months average supply, per month, since June and rose to only 4 months’ supply in December.  The number of days to sell a home in this area sits at an average of 22 days.  Clearly this continues to be a Seller’s market with a price advantage.  Home owners have been getting 100% of asking price every month since January.


St. Thomas finished the year up 14.9% in value. Believe it or not, the average Home in the City of St. Thomas still sits below $300,000.  The average home sold for $259,983 in 2017.  In 2018 the average price in this area rose 38,755.00.  This represents the highest gain in value in the area and because the average price is under $300,000, this drive upward is likely to continue.  The Selling or Buying rules here are more applicable than ever!  If you are a Buyers “MOVING UP” or “FIRST TIME BUYER”. Do it right now! Sellers that want to “DOWNSIZE” Don’t Do It Now! You are throwing away equity, unless you must. Remember that there are always Equity Mortgages available…Nobody should be paying a Landlord, if they can afford to buy! You just lose money. Look at Toronto and the other major centers of the world… Most people trying to enter those Markets can’t afford to do it.  Once you are a Home Owner, you are able maintain your equity build position.


Summary:
We are here to “Help”, You, Your Family, Your Neighbours, Your Co-Workers and Your Friends!  Any time to Buy or Sell, is a good time in this “Hot Market”!   Why?  If you are paying rent the Housing Market is leaving you behind.  Any home ownership is keeping pace for your ability to move up as you build equity too.  It is also a good time to move up, let’s say the difference is value of your Home to the Home you want to Buy is $75,000.  Doing it now, may put $5000 to $7500 future equity in your pocket, if the Market moves anther 6% to 10 %.  This is not a time to procrastinate. An average of 2,327 home sell every month across our trading area in 2018.
 


If we are running close to last year’s sales of homes now, we should Buy and Sell close to 6000 homes between October and December.  Based on the price trends in the last few months we will see additional price gains.
If you are thinking of liquidating or downsizing, “DON’T DO IT NOW “, unless you have to.

CALL TODAY:
Gib Heggtviet                            Mary Heggtveit
Real Estate Broker                   Sales Representative
Direct: 519-535-3975                Direct: 519-535-7355


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