What a difference a week makes! The real estate market is red hot. Again, this is all neighbourhood specific, but overall activity in the 416 continues to be very strong as demonstrated by some crazy sales last week. It’s not uncommon to see multiple offers on most properties that are listed with an attractive low asking price. We ask this question over and over – do you list low to create that bidding war or list at market value? If you ask around you will get mixed reviews. But the statistics show that last week 60% of all the freehold residential sales were sold at or above the asking price. The highest percentage we have seen since the spring market. It is encouraging to see a continued resurgence in the demand for ownership housing.

Freehold listings were up for a second week in a row, up by 35%. The single biggest growth segment being in the $1.5 to $3M price range in the central core. The east end saw a huge increase in listings in the $700 - $1.5M, up over 50%. Total sales were up a whopping 200% from the previous week. This was anticipated as offer nights were predicted for the week, and 60% of all freehold listings sold at or above the list price.

In the condo market new listings were up by only 9% last week, but the number of condos that changed hands was up by 64%. Of those condos that sold 50% sold at or above the asking price. The hot spot of the week was the $400K - $700K segment in the downtown core where over half the units sold at or above the list price. Condos that are priced to sell are being snapped up within days of them hitting the market.