Corinne McCabe , Broker

Webster's Dictionary has two definitions for the word “drought”. The first is a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain and the second is a prolonged or chronic  shortage or lack of something expected or desired. Toronto, it seems suffers both. Not only has it been the driest summer in recent memory, we are also suffering through the longest listing drought on record. Maybe there is some good news on the horizon; It is bound to rain eventually and the fall market is closing in. The question is... will it be enough to quench our housing desires? 

The freehold sector reversed an earlier trend of increased listings by re - cording a slight 13.7% drop in available homes while also recording a 6% increase in sales. This was slightly lower that the sales target we predicted last week however competition for those homes was up.  Last  week  almost 67% of home transactions were at or above the list price. That number is 15% higher than for the same period last year despite having virtually the same number of sales. 

We love witnessing the condo market’ s continued success. Listings remain unchanged from the prior week yet sales backed off marginally (3.6%). Despite the slight reduction in the number of sales, over 40% of suites traded at or above the list price. If you really want to get a true picture of today’ s condo market in the 416 consider that one year ago there were 220 more listings than there were last week, 100 fewer sales and less than 17% of suites sold at or above the list price. 

No question about it, if you like it dry, hot and sunny then this has been the best summer ever. If you’ve lost out on multiple offers and are frustrated with the low inventory of homes then this has been the worst summer. While the weather is likely to cool, we don’t expect inventory levels to pick up significantly in the near future.

The freehold sector experienced a small uptick in the number of available homes coming to market last week while sales dwindled by about the same amount (38%). If history teaches us anything it’s that next week’s sales numbers will improve dramatically since most homes coming to market include an offer date a week or more in the future. Still, historically low inventory levels are driving up prices and producing multiple offers in nearly 62% of home transactions last week.

The condo sector continues its successful march. last week we registered a 19% increase in new listings while sales continue to hold steady with 282 suites sold in the 416. Overall, nearly 39% of all units that traded sold at or above the list price, the second highest percentage on record. The east core, representing Leslieville, Riverdale and the Beaches, certainly has fewer condo units available but competition for those units is the strongest with 6 out of 8 selling for more than the list price, and it seems that the bigger they are the more offers they are receiving.   

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 reflect on the true temperature of the real estate market.