Chatham-Kent home sales post solid August

Residential sales activity recorded through the MLS® System of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS® numbered 129 units in August 2019. This was down 5.8% (eight sales) from August 2018 but stood above the 10-year average for the month. On a year-to-date basis, home sales totalled 899 units over the first eight months of the year, edging up 0.8% (seven sales) from the same period in 2018. “August home sales remain strong, which is surprising given how low inventories are,” said Steve Carroll, President of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS®. “The intense competition among buyers for limited listings this year continues to drive very strong price growth.”

The average price of homes sold in August 2019 was $255,682, rising 14.1% from August 2018. The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $249,746, jumping 19.8% from the first eight months of 2018. There were 154 new residential listings in August 2019. This was a decrease of 11% on a year-over-year basis.

Active residential listings numbered just 253 units at the end of August, up 5.9% (14 listings) from the end of August 2018 but below the same period in every other year. Months of inventory numbered just 2 at the end of August 2019, up a bit from the 1.7 months recorded at the end of August 2018 but well below the long-run average of 6 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.