Despite slow end to year, LSTAR hopeful 2024 will bring resurgence of real estate activity

2023 saw fewer homes sold than any year since the start of the millennium in London and St. Thomas.

But the startling figure from the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) doesn’t necessarily mean 2024 will be the same.

 “I think it is just uncertainty really,” said Kathy Amess, the new chair of LSTAR, during an interview with CTV News London. “I think it is a more balanced market than we’ve seen. But we’re still seeing multiple offers on properties.”

Ames takes the LSTAR helm as higher interest rates keep many buyers on the sidelines.

Some sellers are also holding out, as they wonder if prices will rebound in the spring.

The hesitation contributed to 6,717 homes sold in all of 2023, including only 335 in December. That is the smallest total in almost a quarter century.

Kathy Amess, as seen in London, Ont. on Jan. 5, 2024, is the new chair of the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

While the figure sounds alarming, Amess said it is near typical when you remove the housing frenzy created at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Sometimes we look at the more recent past and think that the market is really slow,” she said. “But if you took out the few busy years, it’s really not that bad.”

The average selling price for a home in December 2023 rose to $628,047. That compares with $605,661 in November.

Amess acknowledged the tick upward might prompt buyers to enter the market during the height of winter to avoid possible spring price jumps.

A home is seen for sale in London, Ont. on Jan. 5, 2023. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

But with mixed messaging from economists and real estate market analysts, she admitted that buyers and sellers remain perplexed.

“Either the market is going to go insane because the rates are going to drop drastically. Or some other headline might say the market is going to tank and that they’re going to get properties for a song,” she said. “So, I think a lot of buyers are confused sitting on the sidelines because they don’t know what to do.”

But, while Amess and other analysts maintain they don’t possess a crystal ball, most signals point in a positive direction.

“I feel there are a lot of good reasons that the market activity is going to improve. But, we’re just going to have to wait and see,” she said.