The London area's red hot real estate market isn't showing any signs of cooling off.
After marking their second-best January on record, realtors across the region were just 22 sales shy of matching their best February to date. Figures released by the London St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) show 740 homes changed hands last month, up from 569 in January.
LSTAR President Blair Campbell said the number "signals an early start of a busy spring market."
The overall average home price has risen 13 per cent over the last year to $445,535 in February.
"Even though the number of LSTAR new listings grew to 1,034, which is almost on par with the 10-year average, the number of active listings at month end was still much lower than normal. This reflects the strong demand for residential properties in our area," said Campbell.
Average home prices in east London saw the largest year-over-year increase, up 21.8 per cent last month to $369,094. North London saw a slight bump with the average cost of a home sitting at $530,042, a 6.1 per cent increase. In south London, the average home price was $437,667, up 11.5 per cent over February of last year.
As of the end of February, there were 1.8 months of inventory left throughout the London region – the lowest level in the last 10 years.