Signs of life return to Chatham-Kent real estate market in May

Residential sales activity recorded through the MLS® System of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS® numbered 87 units in May 2020. This was a large decline of 43.1% from May 2019 to the lowest level for the month in nearly 30 years.
On a year-to-date basis, home sales totalled 427 units over the first five months of the year. This was a decrease of 15.3% from the same period in 2019.
“Home sales and new listings recorded an increase over April’s record lows but we’re still a long way off from a recovery in the housing market,” said Michael Gibbons, President of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS®. “Still, it’s good to see some signs of life returning to the market. Restrictions are still in place regarding open houses and in person showings. Realtors are working hard maintaining covid-19 precautions”
The average price of homes sold in May 2020 was a record $316,661, rising 24.5% from May 2019.
The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $279,219, rising 12.9% from the first five months of 2019
There were 132 new residential listings in May 2020. This was a large decline of 39.4% on a year-over-year basis to the lowest May in over three decades.
Overall supply continues trending at record lows. Active residential listings numbered 166 units at the end of May. This was a considerable decline of 39.9% from the end of May 2019.
Months of inventory numbered 1.9 at the end of May 2020, up from the 1.8 months recorded at the end of May 2019 but below the long-run average of 3.7 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.
The Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS® represents 168 REALTORS® registered with its member offices. The geographical area served by the Board is the municipality of Chatham-Kent in the heart of southwestern Ontario.