GTA Real Estate Market Is Hot for Sellers in Cold Winter Days!
January is always slow in real estate: people lick their financial wounds after all winter holidays or go to Caribbean to get their portion of vitamin D under the tropical sun. At this time of the year there are usually more offerings than askings. Nothing new with that. But during this January it was not the case. Honestly, I was really surprised when we could not find the homes that my clients would like to buy: there was nothing to choose from! It’s exactly like famous proverb says: “When a dog bites a man that is not news, but when a man bites a dog that is news.” Was such situation exceptional? No! Let’s take a look at some statistics:
Latest GTA Condo Apartment Market
Many experts predicted that the condo apartment market would downturn, both in terms of sales and selling prices. Actually, it was a temporary lull in sales and price growth in the first half of 2013. Under pressure of numerous warning economic reports from the respectable financial institutions, potential condo buyers were watching and waiting for a while. As buyers realized home ownership remained affordable, the demand for condos rebounded and the pace of price growth speeded up. According to Greater Toronto Area REALTORS®, the condominium apartment’s sale through the TorontoMLS system in the fourth quarter of 2013 was 4,586, which is 21% higher than in Q4 2012. In the City of Toronto, where condo apartments account for approximately half of sales, the average selling price was up by 8.3% to $381,008. It looks like we will continue to experience year-over-year average price growth for condominium apartments. Now again we can see: “Exclusive Incentives on Condos Today! Lowest Price Guaranteed!”
Latest Resale Real Estate Market
As Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported, in January 2014, the number of homes listed for sale was 2.2% down compared to January 2013. New listings entered into the MLS system were down over the same period by 16.6%. The average selling price for January 2014 sales was $526,528 – over 9% up compared to $482,080 in January 2013. On February10, 2014, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported housing starts in the GTA were trending at 36,367 units in January 2014, compared to 35,547 in December 2013. “Looking forward, it is possible that strong price growth, and therefore an increase in home equity, will act as a trigger for more households to list their homes for sale. This is especially the case for households whose life styles are changing, including those with an expanding family looking for a larger home or empty nesters looking to downsize,” said Dianne Usher, President, Toronto Real Estate Board. “The pace of price growth will remain strong in 2014. Similar to last year, competition between buyers for singles, semis and town homes in the City of Toronto and surrounding regions will continue to exert upward pressure on selling prices. At the same time, mortgage rates will remain near historic lows, so despite strong price growth, home ownership will remain affordable for the average household in the GTA,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.
Bottom line: if you considering to sell your home – don’t wait. It’s a good time to sell your property. Contact me and I’ll do my best to help you sell your house or condo for the highest price possible:
By Nina Timoshyna, Right at Home Realty Inc., Brokerage- 416-274-7367
- ntimoshyna@hotmail.com
