London home sales set October record amid 'slight' supply gain

The London St Thomas Association of Realtors says 906 homes changed hands last month, the highest number of sales for the month of October since the industry began tracking local data 40 years ago.

It comes as the London region faces one of the tightest housing markets in memory with a housing stock apparently unable to keep pace with the growing number of households in the city.

• Number of London area homes listed for sale hits all-time low in September

October saw a flood of new listings with 1,171. That'sup almost 40 per cent over the same time last year. In fact, there were so many new homes put on the market last month thateven with 77 per cent of them being sold, the region's housing inventory saw a threeper cent gain.

After a few years of frantic springs, with home buyers faced with the pressure cooker decision of whether to bid over asking price for a potential dream home, is this a sign some people are trying to avoid the yearly rush?

"Not necessarily, there's just been a lack of supply," said real estate association president Jeff Nethercott.

"Last year was a little soft. We saw a big push of out-of-town buyers and people trying to get in before new mortgageregulationsin the fall."

The average price of a home in the London area was$387,455 last month, up 11 per cent over the same time last year.