Have you ever had the feeling you should have zigged when you should have zagged? Have you ever wondered if your trip would have been shorter if you had taken a different route or left at a different time? Those questions, and many more, often confound our research team because lately trying to predict what the real estate market in Toronto will do is like trying to predict what direction an Ikea shopping cart will take you.
Call it the Yo-Yo effect. Sometimes listings go up and sometimes, for no particular reason....well, they go down. Case in point, the freehold home in the Downtown core. After a flurry of listing activity two weeks ago, listings tapered off last week to below the levels one month ago. Sales are slowing slightly, backing off 13% compared to a week earlier but the number of sales happening at or above the list price is still close to 60%. This week’s hot spot alert goes out to first time buyers looking in the East core where 72% of homes in the $400k-$700k range sold over asking.
Last week, the condominium market proved that the previous week’s listing spike was nothing more than an anomaly as new listings returned to average levels more consistent with the last two months. In the Central Core the hot ticket is owned by the first timer and investor market where nearly 50% of the transactions are in the $200k-$400k category. In the East and West core market activity seems to favour the move up buyer (those in the $400k-$700k category). Overall, sales activity remains active with nearly 30% of condos sold at or above the list price. Oh, and in case you are wondering, there are currently 2,926 condos on the market in Toronto’s core. Lots of choice.
