Real estate sales in Sarnia-Lambton are off to a good start in 2019 thanks to improved inventory and favourable interest rates.
January's dollar volume of $35 million was 20 per cent better than the same month last year.
Real Estate Board President Donna Mathewson said a total of 111 properties sold -- up about three per cent.
"Residential listings were up 13.2 per cent from January of 2018," said Mathewson. "Obviously one directly goes with the other. We had a more mild winter for the most part. We did have a could of cold snaps, but we did have more listings on the market, which directly related to more sales for January."
Mathewson said the Bank of Canada is also backing off on planned mortgage rate increases.
"They're getting a lot of pressure to maybe scale back a little bit on the tightening of the mortgage rules and the stress test," she said. "They want to make sure that they don't stagnate the economy, that they keep things moving. So, we've actually seen them hold off on another bump so far, and we've actually seen a couple of the banks that have decreased their five-year rate. So, it is a really good time still for people to go meet with their mortgage or finance person and lock-in."
The highest number of residential sales was 11 in the $280,000 to $300,000 range.
The average sale price so far this year is just over $300,000.
