Rising prices don't seem to be holding back homebuyers in Chatham-Kent.
The local realtors association reports that 73 units were sold in January, which is an increase of 55.3 per cent compared to January 2018.
“Home sales came flying out of the gate to begin 2019, with January sales actually building even further on December’s big gain,” said Steve Carroll, president of the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors. “It was the second-best January sales figure on record, behind the year 2007."
However, January also saw the price of homes go up. The average price of houses sold last month was $216,704, which is a 23.1 per cent increase from the same time last year.
"Unlike in December there was no accompanying jump in new listings in January," said Caroll. "With more of that activity coming out of existing inventory, overall supply and the number of months of inventory are testing fresh all-time lows, which means it could be another big year for home prices in the region.”
Although there was a 10.3 per cent increase on new listings on a year-over-year basis, the realtors association reports that January was still one of the lowest levels on record for the month. Meanwhile, active residential listings were down nine per cent by the end of January compared to the same time in 2018.