Corinne McCabe , Broker

The sky is not falling. The pigs are not yet flying. And we are pretty sure that the price of real estate in Toronto is going to keep climbing, though perhaps not as quickly as it was already this year.  But really, maybe it will.  After the announcement of the Government of Ontario’s ‘Fair Housing Plan’ our in-house experts pored over the information looking for whatever information might lead us to think the suggested changes would improve housing affordability in the GTA. We quickly dismissed point 15 thinking that while working elevators are fairly essential in a condo building, their lack of movement up or down was probably not having a huge effect on affordability in the market.  Many of us thought it might be fun to join the ‘Housing Supply Team’ or the ‘Housing Advisory Group”, but at the end of the day we all have full time jobs that we like.  The two points that we did pull out that we think will affect the market were the 15-per-cent Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST) and the imposition of rent controls on all properties in Ontario, eliminating the exemption for properties built after 1991. For now we wait patiently for the legislation that will make all these announcements law and will give us the details that will allow clarity moving forward. On one last note, if you were thinking of heading out of town for your next purchase you should probably take a look at the articles below on house prices outside the City of Toronto.

The Freehold market experienced the typical after holiday resurgence in listings, more than doubling from 181 during the previous holiday filled week to 436 this past week.  The increase in listings was city-wide and should help provide options for those Buyers still hot to purchase in the spring market. Not surprisingly, following a week of fewer listings there were also substantially fewer sales last week.  The freehold sales in our study area topped out at exactly 100 with an even 70% going above their list price, down from a peak of 90% three weeks ago. Two interesting things of note last week were the steep decline of listings selling before their offer date with only around 10% selling in pre-emptive offers and the easing off of the percentage of sale price above the list price which seems to be settling in around 120% above the advertised price.

The condo market also witnessed a huge increase in listings adding nearly 200 more new listings than the previous week, going from 258 to 447. Like the freehold market condo sales also declined last week dropping from 224 to 151 this week, though the percentage of sales above their advertised price stayed relatively high with 70% of units selling above the list price. We think it is the condo market that will be most affected by the new rent controls and suspect there may be an uptick in new listings as the market moves forward.

Last week the real estate industry took a slight pause while several major religions celebrated their holiest of days all in the same week.  In real estate the coming of spring normally heralds the beginning of the annual game of trying to show houses while the city, in an apparently random manner, shuts down streets and neighbourhoods for prolonged construction projects – BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP – We interrupt this regularly scheduled Bosley Insight for breaking news from the Provincial Government. It seems that the powers that be at Queen’s Park will be making changes to ‘slow down’ the real estate market in the GTA.  We wish we could tell you what this means but, like you, we will need a week or so to see how it all shakes out.  Stay tuned next week when we can report back on how pending legislative changes will affect Toronto’s buyers and sellers.

Last week the Freehold market continued with steady sales just above 200 units. For the first time that we can recall there was not a single freehold property listed below the $700,000 price point in the central core and an astounding 85% of all listings sold over their advertised price last week.  While homes continue to sell above their list price we have seen a backing off of the amount above list that buyers are paying. Homes under $1,500,000 are selling for about 125% above list, down from highs of 135-140% above list a month or so ago. With most of the city celebrating Easter and Passover it was not a surprise to see a steep decline in listings last week, down from 383 in the first week of April to less than half that number last week with 181 new listings.

The condo market also witnessed a decline in listings last week from 386 to 258. Sales remained steady at 224 compared to 234 the previous week and condos continue to be snapped up above their list price at a rate close to the freehold market. Over the past two weeks condos have sold over their list price 75% of the time down slightly from the peak three weeks ago of 80% of all condos selling above their advertised price.  With all these new rules coming from our provincial government, including potential changes to rent control exemptions, the condo market will bear watching for the next few weeks.

Bosley Real Estate Ltd. is a full service boutique brokerage operating in Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Jordan and Port Hope, 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 the true temperature of the real estate market.

The old adage says that if March comes in like a lion it leaves like a lamb.  If we consider the real estate market in the same vein, since March started with a roar we should have had a nice quiet end to the month. Alas, the real estate market respects no old wives tales as it wends its way through the spring. The last week of March capped off a month that saw prices jump an average 33% over March 2016.  Through the year, the talk has been the lack of listings, and we are happy to say that March seems to have bucked this trend.  The number of new listings in March 2017 is virtually identical for both the freehold and condo market as the number of new listings in March of 2016.  Of course we complained about not enough listings last year too so we expect to see high demand pushing prices in an upward direction for the foreseeable future.

The number of new listings in the freehold sector continued to increase over the previous week, jumping a significant 25% to 307.  Sales also saw a significant increase, up nearly 50% over the previous week.  The truly astounding number is that 90% of all freehold sales last week sold over their list price, including 100% of all properties listed under $700,000. As we enter April and May, the busiest months for real estate transactions, we expect more of the same.

The resale condo market seems to have settled into a nice groove.  New listings were virtually unchanged from the previous week at 321. What is interesting to note is that 75% of all new resale listings are in the downtown core, south of Bloor and between Dufferin and Yonge. Sales did ease off last week to 172 but the competition was as fierce as it has ever been with 80% of condos selling above their list price.