Real Estate Toronto Canada

The Toronto Real Estate Board had a record 25,776 sales in July, August and September - the higest level of third-quarter sales EVER!  There were 8,196 house and condo sales during the month of September - another record as well.  The third-quarter ratio of sales-to-listings averaged 52% which was another TREB high.

So what’s driving all this activity?  Interest rates are a big factor as is consumer confidence.  While we’re seeing record sales, we’re also seeing record low inventory levels.  That’s what’s really causing that high Sales-To-Listings ratio. 

Where sales are up 27.6% over last September (remember the world almosted ended financially for us a year ago), the listing inventory is down by almost 42%. Existing home owners have been reticent to list their homes for sale and move up to a bigger home.  Job confidence is a big factor here and, as Canadian and world economies improve, so will confidence.

Low home prices are another reason for the lack of listings - at least in the minds of sellers.  The average sale price September-over-September was up 10.4% BUT the average sale price YTD vs 2008 YTD is only up about 1%.  What we are seeing though is that statistic for certain ‘hot’ Toronto neighbourhoods is often up 5-10% over a year ago.

This means that sellers who have been waiting for their homes to recover what value they lost from September 2008 to March 2009 NOW don’t have to wait any longer. 

Those losses have been recovered and they can put their homes on the market confident that they’ll get an excellent price and take advantage of these ultra-low interest rates (Monthly payment now is $4.60/$1000 of mortgage) to make that move up to their next home.

Toronto condo purchases continue to do well, taking 32.7% of the market in September.  Sales in the hot downtown C01 area west of Yonge over to Dufferin and south of Bloor were up 20.6% over last year with the average sale price increasing by 11.4%. 

The area east of Yonge over to the Don Valley (C08) had sales increase by 36.4% but the average sale price was virtually flat compared to 2008.  This neighbourhood is still maturing and offers excellent value on a per-square-foot basis when compared with the west side.

Uptown Yonge and Sheppard condo sales (C07 & C14) were up just a few percent from 2008 but the average sale price has increased by about 7.5% year-over-year.

Unless you’re active in today’s market, there are many misconceptions about what’s happening.  Watch a short video from Sally talking about what to expect when you’re a buyer in today’s Toronto real estate market.

Full Toronto Real Estate Board MARKETWatch Reports

To view the July 2009 MARKETWatch Report, CLICK HERE

To view the August 2009 MARKETWatch Report, CLICK HERE

To view the September 2009 MARKETWatch Report, CLICK HERE