The London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR) announced 854 homes exchanged hands in November, achieving another monthly record for residential sales. Sales were up more than 33% compared to the same time a year ago, marking the best results ever for November, since the Association began tracking data in 1978.

"This is the third consecutive month of record sales, demonstrating how robust the housing marketplace is right now," said LSTAR 2020 President Blair Campbell. "We continue to see increases in average sales price across the region in a market with historically low supply."

Inventory is an important measure of the balance between sales and the supply of listings, illustrating how long it would take to liquidate existing inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

"At the end of November, there were 0.7 months of inventory across the entire LSTAR jurisdiction, which is the lowest level in the past 10 years," Campbell said. "Out of the five main areas, St. Thomas had the lowest level at 0.5 months of inventory while London was at 0.6."

Another important measure is the sales-to-new listings ratio. It was 108.4% for LSTAR, which the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) says represents conditions in the marketplace that favour sellers (a ratio between 40% and 60% is generally consistent with a balanced market). LSTAR's five areas all recorded sales-to-new listings ratios over 100%, with the highest seen in Elgin County at 121.4% and St. Thomas at 113.8%.

The following table shows last month's average home prices by area and how they compare to the values recorded at the end of November 2019.

Taking a closer look at the London region, London South (which contains data for the west side of the city) saw the biggest year-over-year increase in the average price, coming in at $555,682, up 33.9%.

At the end of November, the average home price in London North was $619,908, up 26.8% compared to November 2019, while London East was $427,639, up 27.4% over a year ago. In St. Thomas, the average sales price was $426,906, up 28.4% over November 2019.

The median number of days that a home was on the market in London was 8 days, that's down from 11 days in November 2019. Meanwhile, in Strathroy, it was 13, down from 26; in Elgin, it was 18, down from 19; in St, Thomas, it was 12, up from 9; and in Middlesex, it was 9, down from 19.5.

Click here for the full November 2020 report!

From time to time, a buyer-customer (No agency) will ask questions about a property I have listed and I think it is important to explain what is fair game to ask in these situations and why you may get a vague or unhelpful answer. 

When you ask the listing agent things like “What is the lowest offer your seller will take?" or "What is their bottom line?" 

Below is a list of things to note!

1. As the listing agent, I am working in the best interest of my client (the Sellers in this scenario) and am contractually bound to confidentiality about terms of offers from other individual offers, the motivation of the seller, and whether the seller will accept less than the listed price. 

2.  Even if the amount were to be disclosed to me, I am unable to tell you unless I have expressed, written permission directly from the seller. 

3. In most cases, I don’t know that information. Asking what the lowest price a client will accept is typically not part of the conversation as my goal is to always maximize returns, not limit them. 

4.  In many cases, the sellers themselves are unaware of their bottom line until they are reviewing an an actual offer that is on paper. They may have thought it one one amount but find that the terms of a lower offer are more attractive and aligned with their goals. 

5.  High level negotiations are irrevelant mean anything in real estate if they aren’t on paper. If you are interested in seeing how someone will respond to an offer, submit an offer. 

6. If you haven’t been inside a property it is very difficult, if not impossible to assess the value. You simply don't have enough information to judge the finished, craftsmanship, quality, etc.

7. See the property if it’s within your budget. Building a foudation of knowledge and understanding exactly what you like and don't like is a key to succesfully buying a house.  Come take a look at the property! (Critical detail) 

8. If you the property, you can begin a conversation with the seller on paper in the form of an offer. Circle back to number five for more information on this. 

9. When negociating and putting the offer together, there are a few things to consider! Price is important but so are conditions, inclusions, possession date, etc.

10. There are ways to strengthen the appeal of an offer. Things like explaining your story,  

11. use a professional Realtor®️ to assist you in navigating the negotiations and the construction of your offer. It will significantly increase your chances of success!