© Can Stock Photo / Feverpitched© Can Stock Photo / Feverpitched
Chatham

Chatham-Kent's Housing Market Is Still Hot

Home sales in Chatham-Kent aren't showing any signs of slowing down in 2016.

They're still on track for the best year on record.

A total of 113 units changed hands in October, rising 20.2% compared to the same month in 2015. That boosts the overall sales numbers so far this year to 1,265, which is an increase of 15.7% compared to the same time period last year.

Barb Phillips with the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors (CKAR) says the biggest problem realtors are facing right now, is that there aren't enough homes on the market to keep up with the demand.

"Our inventory is so low that as soon as a nice listing comes on the market, it's sold," says Phillips. "We really need listings."

But while the demand is still very high, the average sale price isn't going up very much -- it actually went down in October.

The average price of the homes that were sold in Chatham-Kent in October 2016 was $167,298 -- that's down 5% from October 2015.

"Our market can't keep up with the demand for homes, so as the demand increases, hopefully our prices will increase as well," says Phillips. "It's always supply and demand."

Phillips says the current market is also perfect of first-time home buyers because the land transfer tax rebate in Ontario has been doubled to $4,000 and interest rates are still at record lows.

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(File photo courtesy of © Can Stock Photo Inc. / dehooks)

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