The real estate market in Chatham-Kent continues to stay cool.
The Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors (CKAR) reported on Tuesday that home sales remained soft despite near-record levels of new homes on the market.
CKAR reported 117 homes were sold in May 2024, down sharply by 14.6 per cent from May 2023. Home sales were also 13.1 per cent below the five-year average and 19.5 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of May, according to the realtors association.
It said a total of 492 homes have been sold since the beginning of the year, a minor decrease of 2 per cent or 10 sales from the same period in 2023.
"After rising modestly earlier in the spring, demand has tapered off as we near the summer months," said CKAR President Carrie Patrick. "Although sellers are still out in stronger numbers than almost ever, buyers have decided once again to retreat to the sidelines despite accelerating levels of inventory and prices roughly back on par with where they stood three years ago. There’s plenty of choice and good deals to be had as our market flirts with buyer’s territory, but it seems they are still holding back their purchasing decisions for the time being."
CKAR also reported that the average price of homes sold last month was $427,636, a slight drop of 0.4 per cent from a year ago.
According to CKAR, home sales in May 2024 totaled $50 million, a sharp decrease of 14.9 per cent from the same month in 2023.
The number of new listings was up modestly by 1.1 per cent or three listings from May 2023 as 273 new homes went on the market last month, the largest number of new listings added in the month of May in a decade, said the association. The realtors group said new listings were 14.6 per cent above the five-year average and 19.4 per cent above the 10-year average for the month of May.
CKAR noted there were a total of 474 homes up for sale at the end of May 2024, an increase of 26.4 per cent from the end of May 2023.
"Active listings haven't been this high in the month of May in more than five years," Patrick said.
CKAR said active listings were 68.6 per cent above the five-year average and 38.7 per cent above the 10-year average for the month of May.
The Bank of Canada lowered its key interest rate to 4.75 per cent last week, marking the bank's first rate cut since March 2020. Most economic experts predict that the rate cuts will continue in 2024, but rates will take longer to get back down to normal than most people expected.