It's a seller's market, but the London region's housing inventory is down

The London St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) has released its housing stats for September, and they show that available inventory is downalmost 50 per cent compared to five years ago.

London is known for being one of the most affordable cities in the country, said Earl Taylor, president of LSTAR.

When people come here to buy, they snap up what's available.

"People are coming to St. Thomas, London, Elgin and Middlesex county because it is so affordable and that is eating up our inventory. People are buying more homesthan homescoming out on the market," he said.

Taylor says that manybuyers come from outside of the London area. When they purchase, they don't have a home that can be put back intoLondon'smarket..

First time home buyers are 'driving the market'

First-time home buyers are driving the housing market right now, Taylor said.Having goodjobs and a steadyincome, they are the ones who are lookingto purchase.

"They are anxious to get a home. Interest rates are low and job security seems to be fairly stable," he said.

But with lowinventoryand a high demand, houseprices are increasing.

LSTARreported that London,and itssurrounding areas (Elgin and Middlesex counties, St. Thomas and Strathroy) all saw a jump in saleprices in the last month. Elgin County had the biggestjump with a 20per cent increase.

The increase is largely due to bidding wars between buyers, Taylor said.

"We're still seeing multiple offer situations where three, four, five, ten offers comein on the same property. That drives prices upbecause people are paying a little bit more than what theywould under normal circumstances," he said.

In September, theaverage house in the Londonarea sold forapproximately $412, 208, according to LSTAR.

Compared with the rest of the country, London is ranked the third-most affordable area out of 12major city centres.