Chatham-Kent home sales down from last year’s record, but still above average in September

Association of REALTORS® numbered 119 units in September 2017, falling 10.5% on a year-over-year basis from last year’s all-time September record. That said, it was still above both the five and 10-year averages for the month. On year-to-date basis, home sales totalled 1,114 units over the first nine months of the year, down just 3.3% from the same period in 2016. This marks the third highest sales figure on record for the period behind 2016 and 2007. “Home sales in the Chatham-Kent region remain historically strong, though not quite as strong as one year ago,” said Kristi Willder, President of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS®. “Even with a year-over-year decline Residential sales activity recorded through the MLS® System of the Chatham-Kent in sales, with inventories at all-time lows the market is actually tighter than it was last year. That is why prices are up so sharply this year, volatility in the September average price figure notwithstanding.”

The average price of homes sold in September 2017 was $159,515, down 1.9% from September 2016. The small decline was less reflective of actual price changes and mostly the result of more higher-priced sales in the sample last September. The less volatile year-to-date average price was $185,116, rising 14.5% from the first three quarters of last year.

New listings numbered 163 units in September, down 14.2% from the same month in 2016. This was a 22-year low for new supply in the month of September. There were just 326 active residential listings on the Association’s MLS® System at the end of September 2017. This was the lowest level for this time of year in more than 25 years, down 22.2% from September 2016.