The Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors. (File photo/Postmedia Network)
Low supply and high demand for residential properties resulted in local real estate records being broken in August.
The 160 units sold in August set a new record for the month – and any other month for that matter – resulting in a record-high average selling price of $325,526, according to the latest monthly results released by the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors on Monday.
Home sales jumped by 24 per cent from what was sold in August 2019, but home sales on a year-to-date basis totalled 861 units, which is a 4.1 per cent decline from the same eight-month period last year.
The more comprehensive year-to-date average selling price reached $300,605 in August.
Although several new homes are being built in Chatham-Kent, the biggest impact on prices still comes down to the low inventory of homes available to buy, said association president Michael Gibbons.
“It’s because of such a short supply,” he said. “If you don’t have enough of something to sell, when you do get stock available, it’s going to go fast.
“I think the new homes being built are definitely a benefit to our area. … They’re not hurting the rest of the market by any stretch.”
He said there are people who are interested in new homes as well as those who prefer to buy in well-established neighbourhoods.
“Beauty is in the eye of the buyer,” Gibbons said.
There were 173 new residential listings in August, which was an increase of 14.6 per cent on an a year-over-year basis.
However, the overall supply of homes on the market remains at a record low, according to the latest statistics from the association.
Active residential listings numbered 128 units at the end of August, a sharp decline of 49.4 per cent from the end of August 2019.
Months of inventory numbered 0.8 at the end of August, down from the two months recorded at the end of August 2019, but below the long-run average of 4.1 months for this time of year.
The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
Gibbons said people moving to the Chatham-Kent area wasn’t impacting prices, explaining that no more than 30 per cent of home buyers in the local market come from outside the community.
In fact, recent statistics by the real estate association shows the amount of home buyers from outside of Chatham-Kent actually dipped to about 25 per cent.
“You’re looking at 75 per cent of the sales being local,” Gibbons said.
While it is definitely a sellers’ market, those who want to downsize in Chatham-Kent also face a challenge because rising prices are also impacting smaller homes.
“Those people who want to downsize have an expectation they’re going to pay less for the smaller house,” said Gibbons, adding that “gap of value isn’t as big as it used to be.”
eshreve@postmedia.com
