Chatham-Kent home sales remain well above year-ago levels in February

Residential sales activity recorded through the MLS® System of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS® numbered 87 units in February 2020. This was an increase of 29.9% from February 2019.
On a year-to-date basis, home sales totalled a record 179 units over the first two months of the year, up a similar 28.8% from the same period in 2019. “Buyers were able to take advantage of more new listings in February,” said Michael Gibbons, President of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS®. “That said, it will take more than a month or two of higher new supply to satisfy the demand for housing in the region. Until demand and supply come back into better balance, excess demand will continue to spill over onto the price side.”
The average price of homes sold in February 2020 was a record $284,783, rising 13.8% from February 2019.
The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $264,923, up 13.3% from the first two months of 2019
There were 139 new residential listings in February 2020. This was a large 37.6% increase on a year-over-year basis.
Despite those much-needed new listings, overall supply is still trending at record lows. Active residential listings numbered only 171 units at the end of February, down 3.4% (six listings) from the end of February 2019.
Months of inventory numbered just 2 at the end of February 2020, down from the 2.6 months recorded at the end of February 2019 and a record low 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.