Realtors in Chatham-Kent are reporting that home sales in February were still on a roll as the average price of a home dropped.
On Monday, the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors (CKAR) said 83 homes were sold last month. This was a substantial increase of 36.1 per cent from February 2023, noted CKAR. However, sales were still 9.8 per cent below the five-year average and 4.8 per cent below the 10-year average for February.
CKAR also said a total of 144 homes were sold during the first two months of this year, a sizable gain of 22 per cent from the same period last year.
"Home sales and new listings are both leading the recovery in our local market, with sales activity marking a particularly strong comeback from last year’s 10-year low," said CKAR President Carrie Patrick. "As a result of demand and new supply rising in tandem, overall inventories haven’t really shifted much in the past few months although this individual metric isn’t telling the story of what’s going on under the surface. On the price side we’re still seeing a softer environment as sellers continue to adapt their pricing strategies to move inventory that’s been sitting on the market for longer."
The realtors association also reported $33.9 million in home sales last month, up sharply by 30.3 per cent from the same month in 2023.
According to CKAR, the average price of a home sold in February 2024 was $409,027, a decrease of 4.2 per cent from February 2023.
There were also more homeowners putting their homes up for sale in February with 169 homes put up for sale last month, an increase of 18.2 per cent from the same month last year, CKAR noted. The association said this was the largest number of new listings added in February in more than a decade. New listings were also 15.9 per cent above the five-year average and 29.6 per cent above the 10-year average for the month of February, cited CKAR.
There were 316 homes on the real estate market at the end of February, a moderate gain of 6 per cent from the end of February 2023.
According to the association, active listings haven't been this high in February in more than five years. Active listings were also 67.6 per cent higher than the five-year average and 28.5 per cent higher than the 10-year average for the month of February, CKAR said.
