Corinne McCabe , Broker

It might be Friday the thirteenth, but this week the luck is all good, especially if you are a seller with a hot property to move. With the spring market in fully gear we are seeing a significant ramp up of new listings and, of course, the corresponding increase in sales. Inventory levels are still critically low which means that even those homes that would otherwise be considered “locationally challenged” are selling quickly.

The freehold market recorded a solid 15.7% increase in new listings last week. Normally we would say that this was just what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately, that increase was overshadowed by a nearly 19% increase in sales with a strong 79% selling at or above the list price, the highest level in 2016 so far. The majority of the new listing activity came in the central core, while the hottest area for sales was in the east with nearly 87% of homes selling at or above the list price.

The condo market had a spectacular week with a 6.4% increase in new listings, to 661, while sales rose by 8.9% to 318 suites. Nothing truly shows the pure strength of the condo market like the number of transactions that took place at or above the list price and last week we set a new record in the 416 recording a remarkable 37.4% of units sold. The hottest price point is the $700k to $1.5m across all core marketplaces which we recognize as a reaction to homebuyers being priced out of freehold homes.

Toronto's real estate market is hotter than the release of the new Drake album. Our recommendation is to get used to the "new normal" of low interest rates and tight supply. In our opinion, strong fundamentals for continued growth in the housing and condominium sector across the Greater Golden Horseshoe will continue for some time. 

With any luck the number of freehold listings should increase over the next few weeks, as is the typical spring tradition. Last week we saw a modest 7.7% increase in listings which paled in comparison to the 47% increase during the previous week however sales were off by nearly 12% which could be attributed to the number of holdbacks (a later date set for offer reviews) of properties listed the week before. Despite a lower number of sold homes, our research indicated that 71.1% sold at or above the asking price.

The condominium sector has the ability to confound us from time to time. last week we recorded a marginal 3% drop in new listings online and a 8.9% decline in sales. That would generally lead us to believe that pressure in this sector was easing off a bit however the key market indicator, sales at or above the list price, remains at close to an all-time high at 35%. No surprise that the hot price point of the condo market remains suites under $700,000 price point.

Bosley Real Estate Ltd. is a full service boutique brokerage operating in Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Jordan, Ontario since 1928. We have four centrally located offices and over 250 sales representatives selling and leasing homes and condominiums in all the vibrant communities we work in. Our brand is well recognized internationally 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.