Chatham-Kent home sales see record-low supply for 2019 which puts pressure on prices

Residential sales activity recorded through the MLS® System of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS® numbered 62 units in December 2019. This was down 21.5% from the record set in December 2018 but was still in line with the 10-year average for the month. On an annual basis, home sales totalled 1,332 units over the course of 2019, up 3.4% from the same period in 2018.

“Home sales leveled out to finish 2019, although that is no surprise given that the number of properties listed for sale in the region is at a record low,” said Michael Gibbons, newly installed President of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS®. “Unprecedented market tightness is pushing prices rapidly higher. At this point we are looking at 2020 with cautious optimism.”

The average price of homes sold in December 2019 was a record $269,973, surging 26% from December 2018. The more comprehensive annual average price for 2019 was $251,460, rising 17.5% from all of 2018
There were 75 new residential listings in December 2019, down 21.1% on a year-over-year basis.
Active residential listings numbered only 169 units at the end of December, a decrease of 14.2% from the end of December 2018 and the lowest level ever recorded.
Months of inventory numbered just 2.7 at the end of December 2019, little changed from the 2.5 months recorded at the end of December 2018 and well below the 10-year average of 7.1 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.