Corinne McCabe , Broker

Home buyers are apparently agreeing with Finance Minister Joe Oliver’s assessment of the Canadian real estate market....there is no bubble. Home prices across the country are rising and so is the number of multifamily units under construction. Clearly the Spring market is here and with the first long weekend of the summer behind us, sales and listing activity is on the rise.

New freehold listings are up by 15.8% over two weeks ago. When you factor in some lower numbers due to the long weekend, it appears that listings have been increasing relatively steadily for the past two months. But increased listings also means better choice for buyers, more time to decide and fewer multiple offers. In fact, sales this week are off by about 50% from two weeks ago. Our research shows another interesting fact….multiple offers are slowing down from a high of 75% of every home sale to a more reasonable 54% this week. This seems reasonable considering the same number of buyers are looking at more listings.

If we could call a champion in the real estate battle, we would have to give it to the condo sector.  Despite a recent Fitch Ratings Inc warning on condominiums, listings have been relatively stable for the last few weeks (averaging about 770 new listings per week) and sales have consistently kept pace. Again, the true temperature of the condo market lies in its ability to garner multiple offers on units and it is here that the sector is shining. This week 30% of the condos sold at or above the list price. Like the freehold sector the East is king where 75% of condos sold in multiple offers.

Ok, so maybe you didn’t get the memo. That’s understandable. It’s hard to pull yourself away from another crushing Habs defeat. But trust us when we say… Toronto real estate is just as hot as it was last month.  Sure, an impending long weekend has a natural cooling effect on the market but don’t sit by the sidelines for too long. Buying a house in a Seller’s market requires dedication, perseverance, and fortitude.

New freehold listings backed off a substantial 31.7% this week (representing over 100 fewer homes on the market).  Clearly, people were thinking more about enjoying a cold beverage by the lake than getting their houses ready to sell. While listings were down, sales were up (by 5%) which in turn created nothing short of a mini buying frenzy.  In fact 72.2% of all homes sold in the downtown core occured at or above the asking price. While this is not the highest percentage we have seen this year, the trend seems to be heading toward record territory.

The condominium market seems to have adopted a ‘slow and steady wins the race’ stance.  Listings are down by 4.3% from the week earlier but sales are down a corresponding 4.1%. Our research continues to show two very hot segments of the condo market. Nearly 50% of mid-range condos in the central core ($700K-$1.5M) and almost 50% of entry level condos in the east core ($400K-$700K) drew multiple offers. Our belief is that these two markets are being fed by would-be house purchasers unable to enter the freehold market.

Come here what planning students have come up with for our Danforth strip!  This should be really interesting.

It’s May. It’s really May. We just can’t believe it is finally here. All those nights spent around the dinner table talking about the horrible, unbearably cold winter we had. Do you remember scraping all the ice from the windshield? How about climbing over snow drifts? And then presto! It’s over….at least until we all start complaining about the heat, the brownouts, and the funky tasting water.

Our adaptation of the old saying about spring showers bringing May flowers is… “Warm days bring listings for May”. Ok, we may not be poets but we are happy to report that new freehold listings are up again. The increase is widespread across the entire core of the city but most prevalent in the move-up markets in the central districts. Overall, the number of new listings is up just over 35%. Sales have remained identical to the week earlier both in terms of units sold (234) and number of sales at or above the asking price (68%). 

The condo market is…well, pretty much the same as it was last week. We don’t get to say that very often. While listings are up about 9% from a week earlier, they are still off the peak of 786 units just a few weeks ago. Sales are stronger by 7% over the same period and suites selling at or above the asking price is down marginally (from 29.6 last week to 28.1). No wild fluctuations translates into continued strength in Toronto’s re-sale condo market. This week we note that the most active category was the $700k to $1.5M price point in the central core where 41% of condos traded at or above the list price.

Bosley Real Estate Ltd. is a full service boutique brokerage operating in Toronto and Niagara-on-the-Lake since 1928. We have four centrally located offices and over 230 sales representatives selling and leasing homes and condominiums in all the vibrant communities we work in. Our brand is well recognized thanks to our unique affiliation with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. Our sales teams meet weekly to discuss market conditions, trending topics, and anecdotes that more accurately report on the true temperature of the real estate market.