London-region realtors sold more than 10,000 homes in 2019, the third-best year on record, an industry umbrella group says.

After record sales in October and November, 469 homes exchanged hands in December, pushing total sales last year to 10,125, according to the London St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR).

It’s only the third time the London region — including St. Thomas, Strathroy and parts of Middlesex and Elgin counties — has topped 10,000 sales in a year since LSTAR began tracking home sales in 1978.

The first time was in 2016 and the second, 2017’s more than 11,000 sales, was the group’s best year to date.

“2019 was a very strong year,” said LSTAR president Earl Taylor.

The region set monthly sales records in three months — July (1,043), October (928) and November (752) — despite the annual average home price topping the $400,000 mark, at $409,858, for the first time.

In December, the average selling price of a home was $426,500, up 15.1 per cent from December 2018, LSTAR said.

A separate Canadian Real Estate Association ranking placed London and St. Thomas fourth most affordable of 12 major Canadian markets in December, with an average home price of $416,116, trailing Calgary ($413,900), Windsor-Essex County ($333,860) and Edmonton ($316,100). Least affordable were the Greater Vancouver Area ($993,000); the Fraser Valley, also in B.C. ($817,000); and the Greater Toronto Area ($815,000).

That’s why, even with LSTAR projecting average home prices in London and area could hit $450,000 in 2020, the association remains confident this year will remain a strong seller’s market, Taylor said.

“This is still going to be an area where families are going to move to because our quality of life, great jobs, our schools, our medical care,” Taylor said. “You are not going to get that in Toronto, for example, where you can’t afford that $800,000 home.

“Homes in St. Thomas are basically $75,000 less expensive, so if a family can’t find a home in London, they can definitely find something around the area that’s going to be the perfect place to raise their family,” he said.

“I believe this year is going to be very similar (to 2019), where we are going to at least reach the 10,000 (homes sold), if not slightly over,” Taylor added.