Record-high inventory levels have contributed to four consecutive declines in the average sales price for homes across the Sarnia-Lambton real estate market.
Sarnia-Lambton Association of Realtors President Jeremy Guerette said they're monitoring the market closely.
"The past four months have been fairly similar, in just a little bit of a downturn and a very small decrease in pricing and dollar volume... but that's been very steady, it's not been big adjustments at all," Guerette said. "So, it looks like that's probably stabilizing, that trajectory."
A total of 131 homes sold in October, worth just over $64 million in total dollar volume.
That represented a 2.2 per cent decrease in sales and a 13.9 per cent decrease in dollar volume compared to the same month in 2024. There were 299 new listings, bringing the total number of active listings to 617, and the sales to new listing ratio to 43.8 per cent.
Guerette said as interest rates continue to fall, financing options become more attractive. "Back in 2021, we had 141 listings. So, that kind of just goes to show you the flipping of the market," he said.
Guerette said with the amount of listings and dropping interest rates, it's a "really good time for buyers in the market."
"All over the province, and even the country, we're seeing this kind of a slowdown in the real estate market," he said. "So, interest rates [lowering] of course are going to help with that and it just gives everybody a little bit of breathing room on all kinds of expenses. With inflation, I think everybody's a little bit strapped right now."
Guerette said as a buyer there's no better scenario.
"You've got a lot of listings to choose from and they're all being competitively priced. So, a lot of times, when you go to make an offer, you can negotiate and you've got a lot of selection out there," said Guerette.
The average sales price in October was just over $489,000, down 12 per cent from the same month in 2024, and listings spent about 28 days on the market.
