Residential property sales in Chatham-Kent plunged in March, falling by more than 14 per cent compared to March of 2024.
Figures from the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors (CKAR) indicate 91 units changed hands in March.
That number was more than 27 per cent below the five-year average and 23 per cent under the 10-year average for Marches of the past.
Barbara McCaughrin, president of CKAR, said the on-again, off-again tariff situation has left economic uncertainty in its wake, and is contributing to a sluggish housing market.
“March home sales dropped to their lowest level in a decade amid the tariff uncertainty leading up to the April 2 announcement,” she said in a media release. Most of those tariffs were pulled back mere days later, at least for the short term.
Through the first three months of 2025, home sales in C-K are down 5.4 per cent as compared to the same period in 2024.
The average price of homes sold in March 2025 was $420,299, up 3.2 per cent from March 2024.
The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $435,726, increasing by 7.2 per cent from the first three months of 2024.
McCaughrin said it is becoming a buyer’s market in Chatham-Kent, as new listings are pouring in.
“A near-record level of new listings coming onto the market continues to prop up inventories at their highest levels since 2016,” she said. “Potential buyers may hold back to see what impact this has on employment in the months ahead before committing to a purchase.”
The number of new listings was up by 9.3 per cent from March 2024. There were 247 new residential listings in March 2025. This was the largest number of new listings added in the month of March in more than a decade.
Looking at new listings for March compared to the 10-year average for the month, they sit more than 33 per cent higher than that average.
Active residential listings have not been this high for a March in more than five years, according to CKAR figures.
