Real estate fence sitting in London, Ontario is practically a pastime — buyers and sellers waiting for certainty that never quite arrives, while opinions, biases, and social media headlines fill the gap where real data should be. The actual facts about London's real estate market come from two places: LSTAR for local data and CREA for provincial and national figures. Everything else — economists, bank forecasts, neighbours, pickleball friends, your pastor — is noise dressed as intelligence. Ty Lacroix, Broker at The Envelope Real Estate Group, is in this market every day, talking to buyers, sellers, and agents, and can tell you what's actually happening right now — not what was reported two weeks ago.

Real estate fence-sitting in Canada seems to have become a pastime for anyone considering buying or selling a home. Why? Is it a buyer's market or a seller's market? Are prices too high? Are interest rates going up or down? Is now the right time — or should you wait just a little longer?

The fence is comfortable. It's also expensive, if you stay on it long enough.

If Numbers Don't Lie, Is It the Numbers — or How They're Created and Interpreted?

I talk to buyers, sellers, realtors, and mortgage brokers every day about the London, Ontario real estate market. At the end of most conversations, I ask the same question: "Where did you get that information?"

The answers reveal a lot. Miles Kington put it well: "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad."

Opinions are not facts. Biases are not facts. Perceptions, beliefs, emotions, gut feelings, and social media feeds are not facts — even when they're delivered with complete confidence by someone who means well.

Where the Real Real Estate Facts Come From

There are two authoritative sources for real estate data in this market.

For London and St. Thomas specifically: LSTAR — the London St. Thomas Association of Realtors. Their monthly statistics cover sales volume, average prices, days on market, inventory levels, and benchmark prices by property type and area. This is the ground-truth data for what's actually happening in London.

For Ontario, Canada, and the provinces: CREA — the Canadian Real Estate Association. National context, provincial trends, and MLS® Home Price Index benchmarks that enable meaningful comparisons across markets.

One honest caveat on both: the published numbers are always one to two weeks behind. They tell you what happened, not what's happening today.

What tells you what's happening today is a local broker who is actively in the market — talking to buyers, sellers, and other agents every single day, tracking what's listed, what's sold, and what didn't. That real-time intelligence isn't published anywhere. It comes from being present.

Where Not to Base a Real Estate Decision

This list is longer, and worth being honest about.

Social media. Your neighbours. Your co-workers. Your mechanic, hairdresser, pickleball friends, or golf group. Economists. Provincial or federal government forecasts. Bank of Canada projections. Your financial advisor. Your pastor.

None of these sources have access to current, specific, local data. Most of them are repeating something they read, heard, or felt — and passing it on with the confidence of someone with no professional accountability for its accuracy.

You might think I'm biased, being a realtor. I'd argue I'm a realist. I know where most people get their real estate advice. And when that advice turns out to be wrong, somehow it's always the market's fault — or the realtor's. Never the hairdresser's.

The Cost of the Fence

Real estate fence sitting could end up being a pain in the butt. Or not. But the longer you sit on it waiting for certainty that data alone can't provide, the more of the decision gets made for you by time, by circumstance, or by a market that moved while you were waiting for a clearer signal.

If you want to know what the London market is actually doing right now — not what was reported two weeks ago, and not what your neighbour thinks — that's a conversation worth having with someone who's been in it every day.

Want the real picture of London's market right now — not the noise? Reach out for a private conversation — no pressure, no pitch.

Also find me at tylacroix.com and Totally Preachless

This is a historical snapshot — London, Ontario, for April 2025. Markets move month to month. For current stats and my honest read on where each part of the city is actually heading, see my London neighbourhood market updates — ten neighbourhoods, refreshed monthly. Or for what your specific home is worth in today's market, reach out for a personal analysis. No pressure, no pitch.

There are many opinions on where the London, Ontario, real estate market is heading. There are the pessimists and the optimists, the fearmongers, the “the sky is falling” crowd, and the “I don’t care” crowd!

I have included below a few facts (the truth) about the London and area market as of April 30. Briefly explain the facts and how to respond to them. Predictions are for those with nothing valid to say; hence, verbal diarrhea.

If you want to know where the London, Ontario, real estate market is headed and what you can do today to stay ahead, contact me.

Average home price

• North London: $724,739

• South London: $684,335

• East London: $514,004

• St. Thomas: $574,887

• Central Elgin: $641,445

• Strathroy-Caradoc: $682.149

April 2025

• Sales: 653, down 14.3% from 2024

• Dollar amount: $427 million, down 14.8%

• New listings: 1,523, down 10.1% 

• Active listings: 2,891, up 19.6%

• Average price: $654,147, down 0.5% 

• Months of Inventory: 4.4, up from 3.2

• Days on the market: 21, up from 16

Year-to-date 2025

• Sales: 2,107, down 19.2% from 2024

• Dollar amount: $1.3 billion, down 18.4%

• New listings: 5,190, up 1.5%

• Active listings: 2,417. up 22.5%

• Average price: $645,593, up 1.1%

• Months of inventory: 4.6, up from 3.0

• Days on Market: 24, up from 18

The table below displays April’s benchmark prices for all housing types within LSTAR’s jurisdiction and compares them with those recorded in the previous month and three months ago.

Meaning?

For Sellers:

• With 2,891 properties for sale, buyers have choices. Most can read, listen to, or watch the news and feel they have an advantage in the price they are willing to pay.

• It behooves a home seller to understand that other homes compete with yours. You may feel your place is a castle, but buyers won’t.

• Buyers know prices. They view 6-10 homes; price, condition, and location matter.

• There are buyers out there; attract the right buyer. How? My home seller guide has quite a few tips and ideas.

For Buyers:

• Know what is available and what you can expect within your budget.

• Fully understand that over 60% of homes listed for sale are priced right, and the only loser in lowballing a seller is you.

• Yes, there will be sellers who must sell, but they are in the minority.

• Remember, you are buying a home, a place you can come home to and live in; real estate property is not a commodity. A few home buyer ideas in this market.

Also find me at tylacroix.com and Totally Preachless

Most home sellers in London, Ontario focus all their energy on how their home is marketed — the photos, the sign, the MLS listing, the open house. The more important question is who it's being marketed to. A four-bedroom home near good schools attracts families. A one-floor condo in an upscale neighbourhood attracts downsizers. Marketing to the wrong buyer wastes time, money, and momentum. Identifying the right buyer first — and building the entire marketing strategy around that specific person — is what separates a home that sells quickly at the right price from one that sits waiting for someone to notice it. Ty Lacroix, Broker at The Envelope Real Estate Group, has spent 24 years helping London sellers find the right buyer, not just any buyer.

Have you thought about who would actually buy your home in London, Ontario if you were to sell? Not in a general sense — specifically. Who is that person, what are they looking for, and where are they looking for it?

Most sellers haven't thought about this at all. And most of the marketing that gets done on their behalf hasn't either.

The Standard Approach — and Why It Falls Short

The default approach to selling a home or condo in London looks something like this: put up a for-sale sign, list it on MLS, take some photos (or doctor them), produce a brochure, maybe run an open house, and hope the right buyer happens to be scrolling at the right moment.

Open houses sell less than 1% of homes. Newspaper ads are called tombstone ads for a reason. Giant glossy magazine features arrive a month after they were relevant. And an ad with the realtor's photo larger than the home tells the buyer everything about whose interests are being served.

None of this is targeted at anyone in particular. It's broadcast marketing applied to a specific product that only one buyer needs to want. The billboard in the Sahara Desert — technically visible, but to whom, and at what cost to get there?

Don't Worry About How. It's Who.

The question that should drive every marketing decision for your home is not "how do we reach the most people?" It's "who is the right person for this home, and where are they?"

A four-bedroom, two-car garage home near good schools attracts families — not empty nesters, not singles. A one-floor, two-bedroom condo in an upscale London neighbourhood attracts downsizers looking for lock-and-leave living — not a family of four. Marketing either of those homes to the wrong audience isn't just inefficient. It's expensive, because it wastes your golden window of buyer interest on people who were never going to buy.

Buyers in London's market are comparison shoppers. They're viewing multiple homes, tracking comparable sales, and arriving at each showing with a clear picture of what they want and what they'll pay. A buyer with a good broker is laser-focused on properties that meet their specific criteria — they don't get distracted by shine that doesn't align with their profile.

What this means for you: if your home isn't attracting the right buyer, the problem usually isn't the home. It's that the marketing is talking to the wrong person — or to everyone and no one at the same time.

Focus, Narrow Down, Focus

The most effective marketing for any home starts with a clear answer to one question: who is this home actually right for? Once you know that, every decision that follows — how the home is presented, where it's promoted, what the listing copy emphasizes, which features to highlight and which to downplay — becomes significantly clearer.

A young family sees the school catchment and the backyard. A downsizer sees the main-floor primary bedroom and the absence of stairs. A move-up buyer sees the neighbourhood and the garage. Your home doesn't need to appeal to all of them. It needs to appeal deeply to the right one.

When the marketing is built around that specific buyer, the right person finds your home faster, shows up more motivated, and offers more confidently — because it's exactly what they were looking for.

If you're preparing to sell and want to understand who your home's right buyer is and how to reach them specifically, that's exactly the conversation you should have before the sign goes up.

Ready to find the right buyer — not just any buyer? Reach out for a private conversation — no pressure, no pitch.

House Seller Tips Condo Seller Tips

Also find me at tylacroix.com and Totally Preachless