Home sales in Chatham-Kent declined last month as buyers continue to wait for interest rate cuts expected next month, but the good news for buyers is that there are plenty of homes available when they decide to buy.
The Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors (CKAR) reported on Wednesday that home sales declined in April while supply is "trending in opposite direction."
CKAR said 117 homes were sold in Chatham-Kent last month, a substantial decline of 14.6 per cent from April 2023. It also noted home sales were 7.9 per cent below the five-year average and 6.6 per cent lower than the 10-year average for the month of April.
A total of 375 homes have been sold over the first four months of this year, according to CKAR, a modest gain of 2.7 per cent or 10 sales from the same period in 2023.
"Sales activity has seen quite the turnaround since hitting a recent bottom last fall, but still remains subdued when compared to historical numbers for April," said CKAR President Carrie Patrick. "New listings, on the other hand, are rocketing upward as sellers have been eagerly bringing their listings to the market, perhaps in anticipation of a turnaround in demand. However, that turnaround has not yet materialized as buyers continue to be teased with the timing of the first interest rate cut, now expected in June, and appear to be holding out for now until stronger evidence presents itself that this indeed will come to pass."
The realtors association also noted the average price of homes sold in April 2024 was $454,979, up by 4.5 per cent from April 2023, while the more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $421,471, down just 0.1 per cent from the first four months of 2023.
The dollar value of all home sales in April 2024 was $53.2 million, a big reduction of 10.7 per cent compared to the same month in 2023, according to CKAR.
Meanwhile, the local realtors group is reporting the number of new listings last month jumped substantially by 35.7 per cent from April 2023 with 270 new homes on the market in April 2024, the largest number of new listings added in the month of April in more than five years.
CKAR also reported that new listings were 34.5 per cent above the five-year average and 28.7 per cent higher than the 10-year average for the month of April.
The association also disclosed that a total of 450 homes were up for sale across the municipality at the end of April, a gain of 37.2 per cent from the end of April 2023.
"Active listings haven't been this high in the month of April in more than five years," the realtors group said. "Active listings were 85.8 per cent above the five-year average and 43.5 per cent above the 10-year average for the month of April."