The president of the Sarnia-Lambton Association of Realtors is hesitant to declare a buyers market.
Jeremy Guerette said there were 354 new listings in September.
"I would stay statistically we might still be in the very low end of a balanced market but, with high inventory and the slowing of some sales, we've hit the very low end of the sales to listing ratio -- which would indicate that we are teetering into a buyers market," said Guerette.
The sales to new listing ratio was 41 per cent in September.
"Once we do dip below that 40 per cent, then we would say statistically we are in that [buyers market]. The average sales price has really remained pretty steady. So, with that in mind, I just want to see another month's worth of data to see how it plays out," he said.
With a total of 645 active listings in Lambton County, Guerette said buyers have about 4.4 months worth of inventory to choose from.
"I think for buyers, this is great news. If I'm a buyer, the market offers a lot of selection and I can take my time deciding on the home I want to buy," Guerette said. "Once you do decide on that, generally speaking, there would be some room for negotiating. So, I think that's a big change from what we we're experiencing a few years ago and really positive for buyers."
He said there has yet to be much of an impact from the Bank of Canada's decision to lower its key interest rate to 2.5 per cent in September.
"I think every bit helps. So, certainly the trend of interest rates dropping is helpful. I think we definitely do need to see some more drops in order to see an impact on the market," said Guerette.
145 homes worth a total of just over $73 million sold in September.
That represented a 3.6 per cent increase in sales and a 3.8 per cent increase in dollar volume compared to the same month in 2024.
The average sales price so far this year is just under $535,000.
