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London is the second market we work in properly, and it does not behave like Waterloo Region. More inventory, a large and permanent student rental market, and a ring of Middlesex property that most lenders have opinions about. Here is what that means for a mortgage application.
Stephen Green, Mortgage BrokerWaterloo Region · serving all of Ontario
Nearly 30 years in Canadian financial services
General information about mortgage planning in this area. Everything is subject to full qualification, lender approval and final terms.
The London and St. Thomas board reports across its whole region, so these figures cover more ground than the city itself. They are useful for direction, not for pricing a specific street.
| July 2026 | Figure | What it means for a buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Average sale price | $603,006 | An average moves with the mix of what sold, so a quiet month at the top end can drag it down on its own. |
| Homes sold | 686 | Down 4.9% on the year, but in line with the past four years. A softer month, not a stalled market. |
| Active listings | 3,367 | Historically high inventory. More choice, and more room to keep conditions in an offer. |
| Months of inventory | 4.9 | Nearly a month more inventory than Waterloo Region carried in the same month. |
Figures published by the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® for July 2026, checked on 2 September 2026. They cover the full LSTAR region, which extends well past the city boundary. Market data goes stale quickly.
Western and Fanshawe together give London a rental market that no other city of its size in Ontario has. It is the single most common reason a London file is not a straightforward purchase.
An existing lease transfers with the property in Ontario. The lender will want the lease and the rent roll, and your lawyer will want the tenant details for closing. Discovering this a week before closing is a bad week.
A property you will not live in needs at least 20% down — default insurance is not available on it. If you will live in one unit of a two-unit property, the rules change again, and in your favour.
Lenders use anywhere from 50% to 100% of the rent, and some subtract it from your expenses rather than adding it to your income. That single choice can move what you qualify for by six figures.
London sits inside Middlesex County but is administratively separate from it. Cross the city boundary and the lending questions change.
Ontario land transfer tax applies on every purchase in the province. The second, municipal land transfer tax exists only in Toronto — there is none in London, Middlesex or anywhere else in southwestern Ontario.
On a $603,000 purchase that difference runs to thousands of dollars at closing. First-time buyers can also claim the provincial refund. Work out the land transfer tax →
Worth being precise about, because the real estate board and the county boundaries do not agree with each other.
A separated municipality: geographically inside Middlesex County, administratively its own. Roughly 440,000 people, which makes it larger than any single city in Waterloo Region.
The ring around London — Strathroy-Caradoc, Middlesex Centre, Lucan Biddulph, Thames Centre and the rest. Rural and small-town property, with the lending considerations above.
A separate county to the south, and a separate market — though the real estate board covers both, which is why it is called London and St. Thomas. We work there too. It is not a London suburb and does not price like one.
Our office is in Waterloo Region, about an hour up the 401. It is a fair thing to ask about, so here is the honest answer rather than a claim to be something we are not.
Mortgage brokering is licensed provincially, by FSRA, not municipally. The lenders, the qualification rules, the stress test and the paperwork are identical in London and in Kitchener. Nearly all of it happens by phone, video and secure upload, and has done for years.
Yes. Mortgage brokering is licensed provincially by FSRA, not by city, and the lenders and rules are identical across Ontario. The appraisal and your lawyer are the local parts, and both are local to your property, not to us.
For a first meeting, where that is what suits you. Most of the process runs by phone, video and secure upload regardless of where either of us sits.
No. Ontario land transfer tax applies on every purchase in the province, but the second municipal land transfer tax exists only in Toronto. There is none in London, Middlesex or elsewhere in southwestern Ontario. First-time buyers can also claim the provincial refund.
The down payment, for a start — at least 20% on a property you will not live in, because default insurance is not available. Lenders also count rental income very differently, anywhere from half of it to all of it, and some subtract it from expenses instead of adding it to income.
Yes, and the lease transfers with the property in Ontario. The lender will want the lease and rent roll, and your lawyer needs tenant details for closing. Raise it at the start rather than in closing week.
Common, and workable. Well and septic testing is usually required, and many lenders cap the acreage they will lend against, which can increase the down payment. The file needs to start with a lender who does this kind of property.
Not really. St. Thomas is in Elgin County, a separate market that happens to share a real estate board with London. We work there as well, but it does not price like a London suburb and should not be treated as one.
Based in Waterloo Region, working throughout southwestern Ontario — and able to help clients anywhere in the province.
No documents needed to start, and no credit check. Twenty minutes on the phone will tell you what is realistic, what the lender is going to ask for, and what to sort out before you write an offer.