Home sales remain sluggish in May

The head of the local real estate association thinks the worst is behind us in terms of dipping home sales and prices.

Matt Bechard, president of the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors (CKAR), said May sales, which were down by 12 units from last year (8.5 per cent). But moving forward, future comparisons will be against downturn months of a year ago.

“As we move past the beginning of the downturn from last year it is likely that year-over-year de- clines will turn into yearover-year gains for sales,” he said in a media release.

A total of 130 properties changed hands in May of this year. The sales also are 5.7 per cent below the five-year average for the month of May.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totalled 486 units over the first five months of the year. This was down by 25.2 per cent from the same period in 2022.

“Sales activity continues moving generally upward on a month-overmonth basis, buoyed by very healthy levels of new listings coming onto the market,” Bechard said.

“On the supply side, unlike other local areas that are struggling with a lack of inventory, our market remains well-supplied for buyers who are looking for an ample selection of options from which to choose for their next home.”

The average price of homes sold in May 2023 was $435,114, a decrease of 8.6 per cent from May 2022.

The number of new listings saw a modest gain of 2.3 per cent (six listings) from May 2022. There were 264 new residential listings in May 2023. This was the largest number of new listings added in the month of May in more than a decade.