London and St. Thomas

With 711 home sales last month, October 2006 proved to be the best October for the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® on record. The next best October was October 2005, with 679 sales. Year to date sales are up as well. So far this year 6,274 detached homes and 1,614 condos have exchanged hands for a total of 7,888 transactions, compared to last year’s year to date figure of 7,826 sales. “There are signs that we are moving away from a Sellers market to a more balanced market,” says Costa Poulopoulos, LSTAR President. “For example, active listings end of period is up 10.5% for detached homes and 6.3% for condos. That means that we have increased inventory to offset demand. However, October’s sales figures clearly indicate that, for the time being at least, we have sufficient momentum in the market to fuel it for the near future.”

The London CMA continues to outperform other centres when it comes to affordability. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association’s Major Market Release for September (the most current available), the average price year-to-date for:

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By comparison, the average price for all residential (detached and condo) in the London CMA at the end of September was $187,030.

The best selling house type in October was the two-story home, 138 of which sold for an average $248,709. The second most popular was the bungalow, 124 of which sold for an average $150,457.Next came ranches, 83 of which sold for an average $223,833, followed by townhouse condos, 67 of which sold for an average $131,066.

The London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® is a professional organization committed to serving the real estate needs of the community and to providing its Members with the services and education required to promote excellence, knowledge and a high standards of ethics and business practices. The Association’s jurisdiction includes Middlesex and Elgin Counties, home to nearly 500,000 residents. The Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) is a cooperative marketing system used only by Canada’s real estate boards and associations to ensure maximum exposure of properties for sale. All of LSTAR’s listings may be found on the World Wide Web at

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Stats Report (Oct/06) Page 3 of 24

News Release

London, September 4, 2006

As far as local-area real estate sales go, 2006 continues to perform well. Year-to-date as of August 31, 2006, 6,504 homes have exchanged hands, 1.6% over the previous year. Moreover, with 832 sales, August 2006 is the second best August in the history of the Board; the best August was last year, when 892 homes exchanged hands.

“Experts have been telling us for several years now the market was going to cool down,” says Costa Poulopoulos, President of the London and St. Thomas Real Estate Board. “And that’s a good thing. We’ve been a boom market for the past five years and that’s simply unsustainable. What we expect to see over the rest of the year is transactions returning to more normal levels of activity.” Active Listings at the end of August were up 10% for detached homes and 21.1% for condos. “It takes both buyers and sellers to make a market,” Poulopoulos points out. “Having more inventory will keep price gains in check during the coming months and that’s good news for buyers. Stable interest rates and a level of consumer confidence that remains high in the Board’s jurisdiction will do the rest. We expect a very strong showing for 2006.”

The best selling house type in the Board’s jurisdiction in August 2006 was the two-storey, 172 of which sold for an average $257,049. Bungalows came second, with 157 sales and an average price of $146,263. Townhouse condos were next, with 92 sales and an average price of $126,175. Ranches came in fourth – 89 ranches sold for an average $247,382. The average price for a detached home year-to-date stands at $201,995, an increase of 6.1% over last August’s year-to-date figure; the average price for a condo, given the same parameters, stands at $139,338, up 12.3%.This compares very favorably to other centres. In fact, according to the latest Canadian Real Estate Association’s Major Market Release (July 2006), the average price year-to-date at the end of July 2006 for a home in:

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“There has been a good deal of speculation that Canada might be negatively impacted by a slowdown in the housing market south of the border,” says Poulopoulos. “However, we haven’t seen the same kind of speculation in Canada that there has been in the United States, nor the degree of leveraging that’s taking

Stats Report (Aug/06)

News Release

For Comment: Costa Poulopoulos, President (519) 673-3390

For Background: Betty Doré, E.V.-P. (519) 641-1400

London, August 2, 2006

Last month 800 homes exchanged hands in the Board’s jurisdiction – 645 detached homes, up 3.0% from

the previous July, and 155 condos, down 7.2%. “We have to keep these numbers in perspective,” says

Costa Poulopoulos, President of the London and St. Thomas Real Estate Board. “July 2006 was the third

best July since we began keeping records in 1978 – July 2003 exceeded July 2006 by 95 units. Listings

on the other hand, showed an increase of 3.3% for detached and 35.2% for condos resulting in an

inventory of slightly over 3,000 listings.

The best selling house type in the Board’s jurisdiction in July 2006 was the two-storey, 183 of which sold

for an average $274,031. Next came the bungalow, 137 of which sold for an average $155,170. Ranches

were next with 92 sales and an average price of $240,318. Townhouse condos came in next - 82 sold for

an average $127,539. The average price of a detached home in the Board’s jurisdiction year-to-date

stands at $201,823 up 6.1%; the average price of a condo, given the same parameters, stands at $139,767

up 12.7% from the previous year. The residential average year-to-date (detached homes and condos

combined) stands at $189,175 up 7.3% from the previous year. Despite price gains, the Board’s

jurisdiction remains very affordable in comparison to other centres. According to the latest Canadian Real

Estate Association’s Major Market Release (June 2006), the average price year-to-date at the end of June

2006 for a home in: