Home sales in Chatham-Kent remain on the decline, while the number of homes on the market continues to increase drastically.
According to the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors, 57 homes were sold in January, which was a 44.1 per cent decline compared to the same time last year.
Home sales were also 34 per cent below the five-year average and 19.4 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of January.
“Much to nobody’s surprise we are starting 2023 off where 2022 finished, with sales activity remaining at historically subdued levels,” said association President Matt Bechard in a news release.
However, there were 153 listings added last month, a jump of 45.7 per cent compared to last year. This was the largest number of new listings added in the month of January in more than five years, the association said.
“Given the climate of economic uncertainty and the time it will take for the impact of the rate hikes to fully pass through, it may be the case that we see a relatively more subdued spring uptick than we are used to seeing in the past,” said Bechard. “That said, overall inventory levels have gained back a healthy amount of supply and the market is firmly positioned in favour of buyers, so the incentive for sidelined buyers to return is out there.”
There were a total of 284 active listings on the market at the end of last month, which is more than double the levels from a year ago.
The average price of homes sold in January 2023 was $402,156, a sharp decrease of 12 per cent from January 2022.