London Housing Market Report
- The average home price in the London and St. Thomas area was $612,770 in December 2022, a 13% decrease compared to last year.
- Higher interest rates have put downward pressure on London home prices.
City of London Flag
Like other major housing markets in Ontario, London’s housing market saw a cooling-off in prices over the past few months. The average home price in the London and St. Thomas area was $612,770 in December 2022, a 13% decrease compared to last year. That’s still an 82% growth over the past five years. While their median price of $575,000 has also declined by 13% compared to December 2021.
London area home prices steeply declined over the past ten months since prices peaked at $825,221 in February 2022. Over the past ten months, average prices have fallen by 26%. This has, on average, shaved $212k off the average price of a home in London, Ontario, and the St. Thomas area and is a clear sign of receding home prices after experiencing a 34% year-over-year price gain during February 2022.
Looking specifically at the City of London, Ontario, for December 2022, the average selling price of a home in London was $591,526, an annual decrease of 15%. It’s also a decrease of 28% compared to the peak of $823,842 in prices seen in February 2022. The median home price for London, Ontario, was $561,500, showing a 15% decline in a year.
St. Thomas saw an average home price of $521,154 during December 2022, which marks a 21% year-over-year decrease.
Breaking down the London and St. Thomas real estate market into property categories, 235 single-family homes were sold in December 2022, representing a decrease of 38% year-over-year. The number of townhouses and apartments sold in the area were respectively 34 and 23.
The average sold price of a single-family home in the London and St. Thomas area was $656,792 for December 2022, which is a 15% year-over-year decrease.
The average sold price of condo townhouses in London-St. Thomas was $507,057, down 15% year-over-year. Meanwhile, the average sold price of apartments for December 2022 was $359,670, down 9.4% from last year.
London and St. Thomas had 299 sales in December 2022, a 44% year-over-year decrease from December 2021. On the other hand, 401 new listings came onto the market in December 2022, 6.5% less than the number of new listings brought to the market in December 2021. The sales-to-new-listings ratio for London and St. Thomas is now at 75%.
Meanwhile, the sale-to-list price ratio for London-St. Thomas was 97% for December 2022, which shows a cool down as this ratio was 112% last December. The sale-to-list price ratio measures a home's average sale price compared to a home's average listing price.
Months of inventory have also dramatically increased year over year from 0.4 months in December 2021 to 3.8 months in December 2022.
Even though London home prices have seen considerable gain over the past two years (21% in Benchmark price), homes in London’s housing market are still affordable when compared to some other Canadian housing markets. Toronto’s housing market is a two-hour drive away, with average home sold prices over $1 million. Other housing markets in Ontario, such as the Brampton housing market and Mississauga housing market, also feature average home prices around the $1 million mark. Comparable Ontario cities to London include the real estate market in Hamilton and Ottawa’s relatively affordable housing market.
Rising interest rates will likely continue to suppress demand for housing. This may result in London home prices contracting even further over the next few months, especially as the cost of loans and mortgages increases with rising interest rates brought about by high inflation in Canada. But a shortage of new listings (houses for sale) supports prices and prevents a larger collapse in house prices.
Home Prices in London
London-St. Thomas Area Housing Market Statistics for All Property Types in December 2022
Average Sold Price and MLS HPI Benchmark Price
Total Transactions
Market Overview for Detached Homes in December 2022
Average Sold Price
New Listings
Market Overview for Townhouses in December 2022
Average Sold Price
New Listings
Market Overview for Condo Apartments in December 2022
Average Sold Price
New Listings
London-St.Thomas Breakdown by Region for December 2022
Glossary and Definitions
MLS® HPI: The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) is an index by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) that tracks the prices of homes in a neighborhood. It allows Canadians to quickly compare home prices across Canada and between periods of time without having to account for specific features of a property. Unlike market prices, which can fluctuate from month to month based on seasonal dynamics, the HPI provides a stable view tracks trends across a longer period of time. The HPI is reviewed every year in May to adjust for changes in the real estate marketplace.
MLS® HPI Benchmark Price: The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Benchmark Price is the HPI translated into a real-world price number.
Strata Insurance: Strata insurance is insurance used by a strata like a condominium to covers damages to common areas and assets and liability to the strata. It can also include fixtures built or installed as part of the original construction of each unit, even though these may not be common structures. The insurance can cover:
- Buildings and structures associated with the strata including common areas such as the roof, parking garages, driveways, gyms, pools, etc.
- Liability for any property damage or bodily injury suffered on strata property
- Any fixtures that are part of the "standard unit" or original construction of each unit
Strata insurance does not usually include personal items and appliances that are part of a condo unit. It also does not cover the damages made by individual unit owners, such as in the case of water damage caused by a unit owner. These are usually covered by personal condo insurance.
Property types
Detached home: A detached home is your standard single-family home. It is a residential building that stands alone and is separately titled or legally a single unit.
Semi-detached home: A semi-detached home is similar to a detached home, except it shares a wall with another home. This pair of homes must make up an independent building and each should be separately titled or legally two separate units. There can only be two homes in a semi-detached building.
Townhouses: A townhouse is the middle between a detached/semi-detached home and a condo apartment. Like detached and semi-detached homes, they are often single-family units that have their own land and may be attached to other units. However, like condo apartments, they typically have to pay co-ownership fees for maintenance and may share some common features with their neighbors.
Condo apartment: This category includes all apartments and condominiums. These are complexes of residential units with common areas such as hallways, parking lots, stairwells, etc. They can be low-rise, mid-rise, or high-rise buildings. Unlike townhouses, there are no parts of the lot (the land of the building) where access is reserved for only one owner or occupant. There can be privately owned units and spaces inside the building.
Plexes are multi-story buildings with two to four individual units, usually one on each floor. They are a mainstay in Montreal and other cities in Quebec. Each unit is usually individually accessible via an external entrance with higher floors connected by staircases.
Property Classes
Freeholds: A freehold is any property where the owner owns both the house and the land it is built on. Common freehold property types include: detached, semi-detached, some townhouses, and farmland.
Condominiums: A condominium or condo is any property where the owner owns the home (or unit) but shares ownership of the land and other improvements with a condominium corporation. Common condominium property types include condo apartments and some townhouses.
Leasehold: Leasehold describes the situation where different entities own the land and the structure built on the land. Owner of the buildings has leased the land and pay rent to their landlord while owning the building on the land.
Housing Markets Across Canada
Data sourced from the LSTAR and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Any analysis or commentary is the opinion of the analysts at WOWA.ca and should not be construed as investment advice. Please consult a licensed real estate professional before making a real estate investment decision. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA.