Monthly Newsletter: March

The Toronto real estate market continues to be extremely busy due to an unusually low inventory of homes available for sale. The pool of 14,546 homes currently on the market is slightly more than 2 months of inventory and that has lead to strong competition between buyers, bidding wars and price increases. In fact, the average price on the Toronto Real Estate Board rose to $502,508 in February, breaking the $500,000 mark for the first time.

Now do not panic! It’s just one month, and these are very unusual market conditions. The market is strong and prices will continue to increase, but certainly not at the same levels as February. As we head into spring and more homes come on the market, some of the pressure on prices will be relieved.

February saw the sale of 7,032 single homes, an 11% price increase over February 2011. After two months, the average price of a home in the GTA stands at $487,254.

While the expensive homes get the publicity, it’s important to realize that many homes are still affordably priced. Of the 7,032 homes sold in February;

4,629 or 66% were under $500,000

3,274 or 47% were under $400,000

1,594 or 23% were under $300,000.

In fact only 6% or 407 homes sold in February were over $1,000,000!  Combined with low interest rates, houses remain affordable for a household earning the average income in the GTA.

Those two factors – availability of reasonably priced property and low interest rates –continue to encourage and allow buyers to enter the real estate market, ensuring a demand for houses and that real estate remains a good investment.

It is still a great time to buy, and I strongly encourage my clients to buy investment properties as Canada and Toronto continue to grow due to immigration and a strong economy.

If you know someone thinking of buying or selling, I would appreciate you letting me know so that I can help him or her. I promise to take extra special care of your referrals!

Have a great March!

Your friend in real estate,