Chatham-Kent MLS® home sales gaining momentum as the traditionally busy spring market begins

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS® totaled 103 units in March 2023, declining 28.5% from March 2022. Home sales were 16% below the five-year average and 7% below the 10-year average for the month of March. On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 221 units over the first three months of the year. This was a sharp decrease of 40.3% from the same period in 2022. “MLS® home sales reported for March, although down from last year, showed a significant increase from February. This indicates that the market is starting to bounce back after a slow start to the year. ” said Matt Bechard, President of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS®. “The number of newly listed homes was up from March 2022.

This is welcome news for potential buyers as it means there is a larger pool of available homes to choose from. The increase in sales and new listings demonstrates that the market is gaining momentum as the spring season gets underway. Market conditions in our region remained in balanced territory, neither in favour of buyers nor sellers. Our local market remains competitive as well-kept and appropriately priced homes are being snapped up quickly. It is reasonable to expect that a clearer path forward will emerge as we move through the spring months and into the summer.”

The average price of homes sold in March 2023 was $415,430, down by 20.6% from March 2022. The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $415,190, falling 18.3% from the first three months of 2022. The dollar value of all home sales in March 2023 was $42.8 million, down 43.2% from the same month in 2022. The number of new listings rose 10.6% from March 2022. There were 219 new residential listings in March 2023. This was the largest number of new listings added in the month of March in more than a decade. New listings were 27.5% above the five-year average and 28.7% above the 10-year average for the month of March. Active residential listings numbered 338 units on the market at the end of March, more than double the levels from a year earlier, surging 218.9% from the end of March 2022. Active listings haven’t been this high in the month of March in more than five years. Active listings were 94.5% above the five-year average and 19.4% above the 10-year average for the month of March. Months of inventory numbered 3.3 at the end of March 2023, up from the 0.7 months recorded at the end of March 2022 and above the long-run average of 3 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.