The trade war between the United States and Canada is keeping home buyers and sellers on the sidelines, according to local realtors.
The Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors said 66 residential listings changed hands in February 2025, a 24.1 per cent decrease from February 2024. Home sales were also 29.8 per cent below the five-year average and 26.9 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of February.
“The threat of a trade war loomed large in February, weighing on the sentiment of buyers and sellers alike who withdrew to the sidelines,” said association president Barbara McCaughrin in a news release. “With the volatility of tariffs and Canada instituting counter-tariffs of its own, there is a significant amount of uncertainty regarding the outlook on our economic prospects and labour market. We expect to see a further loss of momentum in our housing market in the near future as people take a wait-and-see approach to the fallout from the trade war.”
There were 143 new homes listed for sale last month, down 18.8 per cent from the same time last year. This marked the lowest number of new listings added in the month of February in more than five years.
There were 351 active residential listings on the market at the end of last month, a minor 2.9 per cent increase from the end of February 2024. Active listings remain at a five-year high for Chatham-Kent.
The average price of homes sold in February 2025 was $418,711, 2.3 per cent higher year-over-year.