You’d never know it from stepping outside, but the weather is improving and while we are still waiting for that one last snow fall (yes, you know it’s coming), we know the general trend points to warmer temperatures ahead and that can only mean one thing....more listings. Hallelujah!
MARKET UPDATE FOR THE WEEK ENDING MARCH 31ST
Do you ever wonder when Toronto’s real estate market will cool down? Some buyers just wait patiently for a little relief but even with this Spring market upon us, it seems that there is a better chance that the Leafs will make the playoffs than a typical buyer paying less than the asking price.
MARKET UPDATE FOR THE WEEK ENDING MARCH 24TH
What a difference a few weeks make. It wasn’t that long ago when agents were complaining about the lack of new listings. The newspapers were quick to pick up on this as the leading contributor to the number of multiple offers and the near double digit month over month property value increases. Well, it seems that our prayers have been answered as this week we experienced a sudden increase in new listings.
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MARKET UPDATE FOR THE WEEK ENDING MARCH 7TH
2014 will go down in Toronto’s history as the year of extreme cold and a piping hot real estate market. While we are hesitant to say that the bitter deep freeze is over just yet, the real estate market shows no signs of cooling. This week we witnessed another strong week of multiple offers and frustrated buyers. With daylight savings just a few sleeps away, we are looking forward to warmer weather, drier sidewalks and hopefully more listings.....
Read moreMARKET UPDATE FOR THE WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 28TH
It’s time for a little Oscar buzz of our own. In the category of hot real estate markets, the winner is.....Downtown Toronto. Critics praise this little independent story of the city market, facing threats of foreign ownership, traffic gridlock, falling glass, a second land transfer tax, and a wayward mayor. People are lining up just to get a glimpse of its stars and The Globe and Mail gives it “two thumbs up”!.....
Read moreMARKET UPDATE FOR THE WEEK ENDING JANUARY 17TH
Back in the good old days we used to complain about the cold. That got a bit boring so the people who report the weather threw new terms at us like polar vortex and frost quakes. None of us can really explain these phenomena but they don’t just sound cold....they sound super cold. It got us thinking....maybe it’s time to coin a new phrase for Toronto’s current real estate climate. So far we have “exiguous domicile stratas”. In other words...not enough listings.
Read moreMARKET UPDATE FOR THE WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 21ST
Who’s got Olympic fever? We do, we do. Our very own Queen West office has become the unofficial games watching headquarters for neighbouring Realtors. We wish it was our charming personalities but it’s more likely the big screen TV in the lobby. While we may be competitors we all agree that finding a home for our buyers has turned into a sport of its own. Mind you, we aren’t talking Olympic quality sports, it’s more like big game hunting as limited supply of housing continues to frustrate buyers and drive up home prices.....
MARKET UPDATE FOR THE WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 8TH
How are the Toronto Maple Leafs like the real estate market? We know that no matter how well the Leafs did in the early Fall, they just can't keep such a hot pace. But take heart real estate fans, while the market is slowing down there is still plenty to cheer about. This is simply another typical seasonal adjustment that happens beginning each November and December for as long as we can remember. And to paraphrase our illustrious mayor, "Nothing to see here Folks".
Read moreMARKET UPDATE FOR THE WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 15TH
Looking for chaos outside Toronto’s City Hall? Well don’t look to the real estate sector. Once again we take the “nothing to see here” approach. In fact this week may go down as the most boring week in real estate. In both the freehold and condo sectors, there was literally no change in the number of available listings. As the old saying goes…no news is good news. Insert Mayoral joke here.
In the freehold sector, the number of available homes remained the same but we did see a slight geographical shift between the east and the west. Listings went up by 12% in the West and decreased by 12% in the East. Sales followed a similar pattern with a decrease of about 15% in the East and a minor increase in the West. The Central core registered a minimal 5% decline week over week. We are seeing an overall slight pullback in sales occurring but at this point there should be no concern as our open houses are seeing a great deal of traffic. Sales at or over the asking price remain at 50% or higher in each core region.
The condominium sector has seen a very minor rise in available listings (1.2% week over week) but registered a healthy 21% increase in sales. Of those sales 24% sold at or above the asking price compared to 22% last week. We believe this is further good news for condominium owners downtown.
The rental sector of Toronto’s real estate market continues to show strength. With a vacancy rate at 1.4% (according to TREB) and the largest share of condo apartments for rent (in the GTA according to CMHC), landlords continue to reap the rewards of a growing downtown population.
