The Chatham-Kent real estate market remains a tough one to figure out.
Despite a cut to interest rates, sales in June were down slightly from the same period a year ago.
But compared to May, it was a slim dip. In May, home sales were down 15 per cent, whereas June sales slipped by just 2.3 per cent.
Looking at the five-year average, June sales represent a drop of about seven per cent overall. Looking back over the past decade, they were down nearly 10 per cent from the average.
So far through the first six months of 2024, 621 units changed hands. That’s down about 13 sales from the same period in 2023.
Carrie Patrick, president of the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors (CKAR), said the market, however, has left behind some positive hints.
“Sales activity was down marginally from the same time last year but is still showing signs of an improvement when looking at the monthly trend, which of late has been somewhat obscured by an almost constant sawtooth movement,” she said in a media release.
Homes continue to come on the market, she added, an encouraging sign.
“New listings are still holding strong and that’s a good sign that sellers have not become discouraged from the slower-than-anticipated reaction of buyers coming back into the market,” she said. “The Bank of Canada’s first rate cut didn’t seem to spur a large number of home seekers off the sidelines as there is still some uncertainty as to if or when the next rate cut will appear. For those keeping a close eye on their finances, rates may need to come down a bit more before they decide to make a serious decision on an offer.”
The number of new listings was down by a mere four listings from June 2023. There were 244 new residential listings in June 2024.
New listings were three per cent above the five-year average and 12.9 per cent above the 10-year average for the month of June.
The average price of homes sold in June 2024 was $425,245, a small reduction of 3.5 per cent from June 2023.
The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $423,416, edging down 0.9 per cent from the first six months of 2023.
Active residential listings numbered 473 units on the market at the end of June, an increase of almost 27 per cent from the end of June 2023. Active listings haven’t been this high in the month of June in more than five years.
Active listings were 57 per cent above the five-year average and 36 per cent above the 10-year average for the month of June.
