LONDON, ONT. -- There’s been another watermark for real estate sales in the region with Oxford County surpassing $500,000 for the average price of a home.

According to the Woodstock-Ingersoll & District Real Estate Board, the average sale price of a home in the district in August hit a new record high of $524, 052. That’s an increase of 24 per cent over August of 2019.

Home sales were also brisk with 175 homes changing hands, up 23 per cent from one year earlier.

Woodstock couple Vince Nero and Barbara Smith were among those who sold in August. Nero tells CTV News they were not even looking to sell, but the offers were too good to turn down.

"We were supposed to be on holidays and I just got looking on MLS and saw some of the prices going up and I got kind of curious as to what we would get for ours."

Smith says they ended up with getting 60 per cent more than what they paid for the home six years ago, and a figure well above their asking price.

"It was up for three days and it sole before the sign got up."

With only 172 active listings across the district, including 52 in Woodstock, Real Estate Board Executive Officer Nicole Bowman says it has been a true seller’s market.

"Inventory is a big one, having not too many listings available for sale. There’s also individuals coming from outside areas looking to purchase in our jurisdiction because our sale prices may actually be more appealing to them compared to their home market place."

Bowman also notes that only 35 percent of the sales were by local realtors, the remainder from outside the area. That could be explained by the fact that so many buyers are coming to Woodstock from outside the region.

"There is a lot of action leading here from the east area, whether it be the GTA or even a little bit closer to us, such as Kitchener, Cambridge, Brantford area."