London Housing Market Report
- Average home prices in London, Ontario, have decreased by 3.9% over the past month to $629,259 for August 2024, which is 5.2% lower than in August 2023.
- The benchmark price of a home in London-St. Thomas for August 2024 was $623,500, 2% higher than last August and 0.5% higher than last month.
- Single-family average price decreased by 7.1% year-over-year to $675k.
- Townhouse average price decreased by 3.6% year-over-year to $501k.
- Apartment average price decreased by 7.9% year-over-year to $385k.
- September 19, 2024 Update: Today’s Lowest mortgage rates in London is 4.29% for 5-Year Fixed
London-St. Thomas Housing Market Overview
London-St. Thomas Housing Market: Price Movements for August 2024
Benchmark Home Price | $623,500 | +0.5% 1-Month Change | +2% 1-Year Change |
Average Home Price | $629,259 | -3.9% 1-Month Change | -5.2% 1-Year Change |
Median Home Price | $590,000 | -3.3% 1-Month Change | -3.2% 1-Year Change |
Home Prices
Home Prices
In August 2024, the average home price in London-St. Thomas’ housing market decreased by 3.9% on a month-on-month basis, bringing the average home price to $629,259. The average home price decreased by 5.2% year-over-year. The average home price is approximately 24% below the all-time peak of February 2022. With the average home being over 20% lower than the peak, the market can be considered a bear market. In fact, based on the average price, London’s housing market has been a bear market for 17 of the last 24 months.
The median price often gives a better estimate of the market prices by discounting the outliers. The median price of $590,000 in August 2024 represents a 3.2% annual decline but an increase of 53.2% from five years ago.
Regional Comparison
Looking specifically at the City of London, Ontario, for August 2024, the median home price was $600,000, reflecting a 2% gain in a year. A total of 385 homes were sold in the City of London, Ontario, in August 2024, 9.2% less than last August.
St. Thomas saw a median price of $547,000 during August 2024, a decline of 0.5% from last August. There were 57 homes sold in St. Thomas in August 2024, 10.9% lower than last year.
Meanwhile, looking at other smaller regions in the market, Elgin had a median price of $609,000, Middlesex had a median price of $667,500, and Strathroy-Caradoc had a median price of $570,000. The smaller markets have very few sales and thus experience much greater variation in median home prices on a monthly and annual basis.
Property Types
Breaking down the London and St. Thomas real estate market into property categories, 449 single-family homes were sold in August 2024, along with 76 townhouses and 30 apartments.
- The median selling price of a single-family home in the London and St. Thomas area was $625,000 for August 2024, decreasing by 3.8% year-over-year.
- The median selling price of townhouses in London-St. Thomas was $494,000, down by 0.2% year-over-year.
- Apartments had a median selling price of $321,250 in August 2024, down by 6.5% from last year.
Sales and New Listings
London and St. Thomas had 577 sales in the month, representing 1.4% higher sales than in August 2023 and decreasing by 4.5% from July. On the other hand, 1,328 new listings came onto the market in August 2024, 9.6% more than the new listings in August 2023 and 13.3% less than last month. Both sales and new listings were higher than August 2023 but lower than last month. The slowdown in market activity compared to last month is a seasonal effect typically observed at this time of the year.
The sales-to-new-listings ratio (SLNR) for London and St. Thomas in August 2024 was 43%, up from last month’s 39.5% and pushing the market back into balanced territory. An SLNR between 40% and 60% usually indicates balanced market conditions, meaning the market neither favours the sellers nor the buyers, while an SLNR of under 40% suggests that the market favours the buyers.
There were 2,883 active listings at the end of August 2024, reflecting a gain of 19.2% in inventory levels over the past year.
Additional Ratios
The sale-to-list price ratio measures a home's average sale price compared to a home's average listing price. The sale-to-list price ratio for London-St. Thomas was 97.9% for August 2024, indicating that houses are selling about 2.1% below the asking price. In comparison, when home prices in London peaked in February 2022, the sale-to-list price ratio was 122.9%.
At the end of August 2024, there were 5 months of inventory, significantly higher than the 0.7 months observed at the end of August 2021.
Reasoning
London’s housing market saw a massive 34% gain in average home prices in the one-year period from February 2021 to February 2022. However, shortly after, the demand sharply fell in the London-St. Thomas market as the mortgage rates rose. A decline in demand caused the home prices to plunge as well. Mortgage rates have remained quite high for nearly two years now, which has negatively impacted mortgage affordability, due to which demand has remained low.
The Bank of Canada started cutting its policy rate in June 2024, delivering three rate cuts so far. Meanwhile, the mortgage rate forecast suggests there will be more rate cuts this year. As a result, affordability will improve and we might see demand increase in London’s housing market.
Comparison
Even though London's home prices have seen considerable gains over the past five years (a 76% increase in average price), the 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.
Home Prices in London
London-St. Thomas Area Housing Market Statistics for All Property Types in August 2024
Average Sold Price and MLS HPI Benchmark Price
Transactions and New Listings
Market Overview for Detached Homes in August 2024
Average Sold Price
New Listings
Market Overview for Townhouses in August 2024
Average Sold Price
New Listings
Market Overview for Condo Apartments in August 2024
Average Sold Price
New Listings
London-St.Thomas Breakdown by Region for August 2024
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.
Disclaimer:
- Any analysis or commentary reflects the opinions of WOWA.ca analysts and should not be considered financial advice. Please consult a licensed professional before making any decisions.
- The calculators and content on this page are for general information only. WOWA does not guarantee the accuracy and is not responsible for any consequences of using the calculator.
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- Interest rates are sourced from financial institutions' websites or provided to us directly. Real estate data is sourced from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and regional boards' websites and documents.
- The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service®, and associated logos are owned by CREA and identify services provided by its members.