Housing prices are soaring in Chatham-Kent as the market continues to favour sellers.
According to the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors, the year-to-date average price was $238,332, up 31.7 per cent from the first three months of 2018. A release from the association said there were 150 new residential listings in March this year which is an increase of 18.1 per cent on a year-over-year basis and active residential listings were at 199 units at the end of March, up 2.6 per cent.
President of the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors Steve Carroll said there was a decrease in the number of sales last month compared to the same time in 2018.
“Sales activity bounced back to average levels in March following a brief dip in February,” Carroll said. “It looks like these fluctuations in sales are more a supply story than a demand story. Given how few homes are out there for sale, monthly sales figures seem to be very much influenced when new listings become available. The competition among buyers for limited listings is evident in the behaviour of prices, which have been posting huge gains of late.”
Total home sales are at 239 over the first three months of the year which is up 0.8 per cent. The long-term average for inventories is over 550 which equals just two months if units keep selling at the rate they are.