London Housing Market Report
- Average home prices in London, Ontario, have increased by 1.6% over the past month to $664,149 for April 2023, which is 14% lower than April 2022.
- Higher interest rates have put downward pressure on London home prices.
City of London Flag
Average Prices
Like many other housing markets across Canada, spring sales activity and shrinking inventory have provided an upward push to home prices in London-St. Thomas area. Even though the home prices are lower than in April last year, the year-over-year price gap has narrowed. A 14% year-over-year decrease brings the April 2023 average home price to $664,149. Similarly, the median price of $620,500 has also declined 13% since April 2022. However, the region experienced a 55% growth in average prices over the past three years.
Average house prices in London peaked in February last year but declined over the course of 2022. House prices fell by nearly 240k or 30% from the peak by the end of 2022. However, house prices have experienced steady growth since January this year.
Regional Analysis
Looking specifically at the City of London, Ontario, for April 2023, the average selling price of a home in London was $662,892, an annual decrease of 12%. The median home price for London, Ontario, was $620,000, showing a 12% decrease in a year.
St. Thomas saw an average home price of $572,767 during April 2023, which marks a 15% decrease year-over-year. The median price for St. Thomas was $575,000, a decline of 13% from last April.
Property Analysis
Breaking down the London and St. Thomas real estate market into property categories, 519 single-family homes were sold in April 2023. Meanwhile, 100 townhouses were sold, along with 61 apartments in the area.
- The average sold price of a single-family home in the London and St. Thomas area was $715,993 for April 2023, a 14.8% decrease year-over-year.
- The average sold price of condo townhouses in London-St. Thomas was $547,099, down 11.5% year-over-year.
- Apartments had an average selling price of $438,512 in April 2023, down 7.9% from last year.
Sales and New Listings
London and St. Thomas had 723 sales in April 2023, an 18% decrease year-over-year from April 2022 but a 5.5% increase from March. On the other hand, 964 new listings came onto the market in April 2023, 40% less than the new listings in April 2022 and 11% less than last month. The sales-to-new-listings ratio for London and St. Thomas increased from 63.5% in March to 75% in April, hinting that the housing supply is unable to meet the demand, thus making market conditions favorable for sellers.
Additional Ratios
Meanwhile, the sale-to-list price ratio for London-St. Thomas was 99.5% for April 2023, indicating that houses are selling almost at the listed price. This ratio was 114.1% last April when most houses sold above the asking price. 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 increased from 1.2 months in April 2022 to 1.8 months in April 2023; however, this is a decline from 2 months of inventory seen at the end of last month.
Reasoning
Even though London home prices have seen considerable gain over the past three years (55% in average price), homes in London’s housing market are still affordable 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.
After continuously hiking it over the past year, the Bank of Canada (BoC) decided to hold its policy interest rate at 4.5%. The effects of the pause in rate hikes are already showing in the form of gains in the housing market. The latter half of 2022 saw the cost of loans and mortgages increase with the rate hikes brought about by high inflation in Canada. With the rate hikes paused and the housing demand increasing, it remains to be seen if more sellers would come out in the market or if the shrinking inventory would push home prices back toward 2022’s peak.
Home Prices in London
London-St. Thomas Area Housing Market Statistics for All Property Types in April 2023
Average Sold Price and MLS HPI Benchmark Price
Transactions and New Listings
Market Overview for Detached Homes in April 2023
Average Sold Price
New Listings
Market Overview for Townhouses in April 2023
Average Sold Price
New Listings
Market Overview for Condo Apartments in April 2023
Average Sold Price
New Listings
London-St.Thomas Breakdown by Region for April 2023
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.