The low supply of housing in Chatham-Kent and the high demand for homes continue pushing up the real estate prices to record levels.
The Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors (CKAR) said the average price of a home sold in August of 2021 was a record $429,198, up sharply by 32.1 per cent from August of 2020.
CKAR also reported on Wednesday that active listings were 17.8 per cent below the five-year average and 54.8 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of August. The association said there were 187 active residential listings on the market at the end of August, an increase of 45 per cent from the end of August in 2020. The association said the housing inventory at the end of August is up from the same period last year but is well below the overall average for this time of year.
"Sales activity continued to post strong gains, but realtors are still very concerned that new home buyers are being priced out of the market," said President Laura Tourangeau. "While we saw an uptick in overall inventory last month, overall supply is still trailing far behind demand, and as a result, prices continue to post new records. Housing should be a right, not a luxury for the people of Chatham-Kent."
CKAR said 159 homes were sold last month, a decrease of 1.9 per cent or three sales from the same month last year but it was tied with August of 2007 as the second-highest level of sales on record for the month. The association also reported that home sales were 8.5 per cent above the five-year average and 18.9 per cent above the 10-year average for the month of August.
So far, a record 1,229 houses have been sold this year, which is a 40.5 per cent jump from the same period in 2020, setting a new record for the month of August for the dollar value of all home sales. There were $68.2 million sold last month, a gain of 29.7 per cent from the same month last year.
