We’ve recently noticed a trend of Realtors walking around and playing with yo-yo’s. Yes, that well known toy that goes up and down the string, up and down, up and down.  Forgive us if our emotions are playing out with our toys because the market is starting to feel a little like a yo-yo. One week the market is taking off and then we take a break for the long weekend. The next week we see the listings come out and think up it will go. Then we listen to the government introduce new mortgage rules and we start to wonder if this is the week it will slow down.  But wait, maybe changes to mortgage rules will mean a rush of buyers trying to purchase before the new rules come into effect. Up and down, up and down. In every market there are still people that need and want to buy and sell. People move for life-style and life changes, babies and retirement. Our market is still moving and from what we see it is still moving in an upward direction.  There are still multiple offers on hot properties and the condo market continues to shine.

The freehold market continues to follow the long weekend pattern.  After taking a breather for Thanksgiving we note that as expected the listings are up with people coming to market after waiting out the long weekend.  And as we saw the regular decline of listings before the long weekend we are never surprised that sales are down the week after the holiday break. Listings increased 25% over the previous week though it was interesting to note a slight decrease in listings in the west end compared to a huge increase of 82% in the east end. What we do note with some concern is that the number of listings that sold above their asking price has declined again to 26% from the peak of nearly 50% only four short weeks ago.

The condo market, as we know, cares less for long weekends and acting like the rebellious teen compared to the mature freehold market decided to go in the exact opposite direction. Long weekend and Thanksgiving aside we actually saw a slight decline in new condo listings, down to 253 from 295 the previous week and sales stayed essentially the same moving up slightly to 141 over the 134 sold in the previous week.  Condos that sold above their advertised price represented 34% of the total sales for the week and this is a number thathas remained fairly consistent throughout the fall market.Bosley Real Estate Ltd. is a full service boutique brokerage operating in Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Port Hope, Ontario since 1928. We have four centrally located offices and over 250 sales representatives selling and leasing homes and condominiums in all the vibrant communities we work in. Our brand is well recognized internationally thanks to our unique affiliation with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. Our sales teams meet weekly to discuss market conditions, trending topics, and anecdotes that more accurately reflect the true temperature of the real estate market.