A basic fact of life in the Toronto real estate market is that summer is a much slower time of year than spring or fall. The weather warms up, and after a hectic ‘spring market’ folks – including Realtors – naturally turn their attention to summer activities. For parents, the kids are home/off to camp, etc., which is a huge change. The bottom line is that fewer people think real estate in the summer. (Winter is also slow – no surprise there!)
Nonetheless, we still see thousands of transactions every summer. This past July there were 7,570 sales, a slight drop of 1.5% from July 2011. However, fewer sales did not indicate a declining market: prices were actually up 4%. Interestingly, the decline in volume seems to have been most influenced by downtown condo sales; the rest of the GTA saw an increase in volume. It’s possible that slightly tighter mortgage rules introduced earlier this year had a bit of an effect – not to mentioned the incessant doom and gloom in the media about the Toronto condo market. Either way, I don’t really see a long-term downside to either effect: moderation in the market may enhance sustainability, which is a good thing.
In August TREB posted 6,418 sales, a volume decline of 12.5% from 7,330 in August 2011. However, with new listings dropping by 5.5% (also typical of the summer months) the supply of available houses remained tight; the average sale price was up to $479,095, an increase of 6.5% over August 2011. Last month the GTA-wide increase in prices was driven mostly by a 15% rise in the average price of a detached house in Toronto. Tight supply does that!
The ‘fall market’ typically opens up after Labour Day, and this year is no exception. We have already seen a rapid increase in the number of available listings, and as the weeks roll on we’ll see the sales start to increase – both in volume and, I believe, in price. I’ll keep you posted. 😉 In the meantime, if you want to buy or sell this fall you should get started soon and take advantage of current conditions. Call me today and let’s get to work!
Summer 2012 Market Review
September 13th, 2012 Posted by Simon Milberry Interest Rates, Market Commentary No Comment yetA basic fact of life in the Toronto real estate market is that summer is a much slower time of year than spring or fall. The weather warms up, and after a hectic ‘spring market’ folks – including Realtors – naturally turn their attention to summer activities. For parents, the kids are home/off to camp, etc., which is a huge change. The bottom line is that fewer people think real estate in the summer. (Winter is also slow – no surprise there!)
Nonetheless, we still see thousands of transactions every summer. This past July there were 7,570 sales, a slight drop of 1.5% from July 2011. However, fewer sales did not indicate a declining market: prices were actually up 4%. Interestingly, the decline in volume seems to have been most influenced by downtown condo sales; the rest of the GTA saw an increase in volume. It’s possible that slightly tighter mortgage rules introduced earlier this year had a bit of an effect – not to mentioned the incessant doom and gloom in the media about the Toronto condo market. Either way, I don’t really see a long-term downside to either effect: moderation in the market may enhance sustainability, which is a good thing.
In August TREB posted 6,418 sales, a volume decline of 12.5% from 7,330 in August 2011. However, with new listings dropping by 5.5% (also typical of the summer months) the supply of available houses remained tight; the average sale price was up to $479,095, an increase of 6.5% over August 2011. Last month the GTA-wide increase in prices was driven mostly by a 15% rise in the average price of a detached house in Toronto. Tight supply does that!
The ‘fall market’ typically opens up after Labour Day, and this year is no exception. We have already seen a rapid increase in the number of available listings, and as the weeks roll on we’ll see the sales start to increase – both in volume and, I believe, in price. I’ll keep you posted. 😉 In the meantime, if you want to buy or sell this fall you should get started soon and take advantage of current conditions. Call me today and let’s get to work!