February's extreme cold may have contributed to a slow real estate market in Sarnia-Lambton as the number of home sales saw a "significant" drop.
The Sarnia Lambton Association of Realtors said 72 homes changed hands last month, representing a decline of 24.2 per cent compared to February 2025.
Home sales were also 34.7 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of February.
With fewer sales, the dollar volume also dropped. The value of homes sold in February was $30.3 million, a "substantial decline" of 40.7 per cent compared to February 2025.
Association President Jeremy Guerette said the market is typically slow during the winter months as buyers generally prefer to go house hunting in the warmer weather.
So far this year, listings have spent about 28.5 days on the market.
There were 203 new listings in February, down slightly by one per cent compared to the same time last year.
The sales-to-new-listing ratio was 35.5 per cent, which does indicate movement towards a buyer's market. However, Guerette said he'd like to see a few months' worth of data before indicating so.
"February was certainly, statistically, a buyer's market month. If that persists in March and April, then we'd tilt it. But for sure, everything's kind of slanted in that direction," he said.
The month ended with approximately 477 active listings in Lambton County.
Guerette said there's a broad range of listings available.
"I think that bodes well with buyers," he said. "There's definitely some ability to negotiate and then there's lots of product to look at."
The average price of homes sold last month was $421,186, down 21.7 per cent compared to February 2025.
"That's dipped, which we did see back in 2022 around the same time and then things kind of leveled out by the end of 2023," said Guerette. "So we'll watch that. It tends to dip down this time of year, but we're going to watch as the spring market goes through."
The year-to-date average sale price was $447,562.
