I know this newsletter comes extremely late, but it's always a good time to look and analyze the numbers for the Toronto Real Estate market. I will start off by discussing the numbers for January 2012 and end off with the numbers for the first 14 days of February 2012.
The Toronto real estate market continued its frenetic 2011 activity right into 2012! Not only has the real estate activity continued, but low inventory levels of homes available for sale has pushed prices up almost 9% compared to January 2011.
A strong economy, continued immigration and low interest rates have created a favorable affordability situation, where buyers not only want to buy, but can actually afford to buy.
With 4,567 sales reported in January by the Toronto Real Estate Board, 2012 is shaping up to be another boom year. Hopefully as we get deeper into the year, the pressure on prices will release slightly as more homes come on the market.
I was looking back at the history of house prices in Toronto. 20 years ago, the average price of a house was $234,313. Today its $463,534. Sometimes I wonder – how many people missed the real estate boat? How many people are waiting (some for years now) for prices to adjust, for the bubble to burst? I know a few!
I don’t know if there is a bubble and I do not know if prices will adjust, but I do know that Toronto
On that note, let's reflect back on the numbers for the first 14 days of February 2012 from TREB's report:
- 3,206 transactions reported through the MLS during the first 14 days of February, up more then 9% compared to the 2,933 sales reported during the same time in 2011
- Average selling price in the 416 area is.......$543,068, up 9% from the same period last year
- Average selling price in the GTA is..............$491,493, up by 9% from February 2011
The good news for buyers is that listings were up 13% during the first 14 days of February when compared to the same period in 2011, which will hopefully ease some of the competition happening between buyers in the market place and stabilize home prices.
On the flip side, the good news for sellers during the first 14 days of February is that sellers received on average 99% of their asking price and their homes were on the market for an average of 25 days. So if you're thinking of selling your home this year, no time like the present to do so and I can help!
So, I continue to encourage you, my clients, to buy real estate. Buy an investment property, buy a downtown condo if your kids are planning to go to University, invest in your country and your future!
I leave you now with a video of Jason Mercer from TREB discussing the Toronto Real Estate market in January 2012 and the outlook for the rest of 2012:
Also check out the new MLS Home Price Index, very exciting for real estate:
Have a great March and please call me if you have any questions or know of someone thinking of buying or selling. And don't forget about my referral contest too (click here for more details). I appreciate your help and support!
Your friend in real estate,
I see so many reports that are about what Real Estate sales performance was this month or that; yet we are collecting volumes of data every day that inherently demonstrate what the market is looking for. I don't understand why analysts and Realtors depend so much on the "sales data". Doesn't anyone want to know all this stuff just by watching end-user search trends? Is it not much more relevant for Realtors to be tuned into what will happen tomorrow, rather than what happened yesterday? At inNewHomes.com [and MLS surely also has the ability]; we can see the marketplace variations/concentrations in end-user search habits; and then see them appear in months following through industry market sales reports. It is frustrating reading all these articles about what has happened in sales compared to last year etc. Why do analysts ignore the most relevant data to the present and future?
ReplyDeleteIf I were a Realtor, I wouldn't want to wait sales data is tallied in order to learn about my marketplace's interest. I would want to know weeks and months in advance - not after someone else closed the deal.
For example, I monitor our average end-user's search price ranges - when it drops or gains by a few percent, time and time again, I subsequently see actual market sales performance follow about seventy-five days later. This is true of almost any relevant criteria we collect.
All this is just to ask, isn't it more intelligent to have metrics/analytics that demonstrate what the market wants; rather than wait to learn what the market wanted?
In today’s world you have seen that the price of real estate is getting higher and higher. I guess your blog visitors might find it interesting that.They will get guaranteed heavy discounts on real estate.
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