Corinne McCabe , Broker

At this point in the year we should be gearing up for the spring market, but we just aren't feeling it yet. The consensus is we are a month behind other years. Like most of this year we are struggling with low inventories, a situation that has many puzzled. The pent up demand is evident. Walk into any open house on the weekend and see if you can find empty space on the floor to leave your shoes. The overall number of sales is beginning to perk up, but the action is still far below where it was at this time last year.

The number of new listings continued to contract last week but that could be because of the family day holiday. 25 percent fewer listings week over week created increased competition with 35 percent more sold properties and of those, 60 percent sold over the asking price. The price range between $700K and $1.5K was the most active last week with 68 percent more properties sold and of those 63 percent sold over asking.

A similar market exists in the resale condo sector. Listings were off last week by 15 percent while sales were up 21 percent week over week. And of those sales 47 percent sold at or above the asking price. The condo market has been traditionally reserved for first time buyers, but as freehold home ownership becomes less affordable we expect even more activity in the condo market. 

The media likes to sell sob-stories to survive. The TREB market report was released this week and the news release in the media was all doom and gloom. Well not so in the City of Toronto. The average selling price at the end of January was $766,616, up 5.5 percent from a year ago which was $727, 928. The number of new listings came in at 2,776 for the end of January slightly lower than a year ago at 2,886. But when you factor in the surrounding GTA it skews the City of Toronto stats. The annual rate of growth in the City of Toronto was driven by the condominium market sector, which has had double-digit annual growth.

The freehold market is starting to build up some steam. We have seen a 20 percent increase in listings with the central core leading the way and the number of sold properties was up 15 percent and of those 30 percent sold over the asking price. Buyers are circling and they are willing to move quickly when they see a property that ticks all the right boxes. There seems to be an exuberance in the office this week and no doubt that the market is starting to take off.

The resale condo market is exhibiting some "freehold like" qualities. This week there were 30 percent more new listings to hit the market from the previous week but the number of sold condos was down 10 percent. Urbanation, a company that tracks the condo market released their annual report this week and the average price per square foot for a new condo is $1,031 and $823 for a resale condo.  As many as 20,000 new units are expected to be delivered in 2018.

This is an interesting infographic comparies the averages from 2016 to 2017...

Blue Moon - “a second full moon in a calendar month” Has it cast a spell over the real estate market? 

It’s hard to believe that we are already a month into the new year. We have had some major snowfalls and plunging temperatures but so far this year it’s been a tepid real estate market. Agents are complaining there is nothing to show and as research indicates listings in both the freehold and condo sector have backed off substantially from a year ago while the demand is still strong. Perfect example: A house in prime Leslieville gets listed for $875,000 and on offer night there are 15 offers and it sells for $1,290,000. The buyers are out there. If you are thinking of selling NOW is the time!

In the freehold sector, listings continue to be a source of concern. We are down 10 percent in listings from the previous week, and we should be seeing an increase in new listings week over week not a decrease. The good news is we have seen a small increase in sales this week, and of those sales more than 50 percent sold over the asking price. The hot spot was the east side (E01-E03) where there were 24 sales and of those 45 percent sold over the asking.

A similar tight market exists in the condominium sector. Last week we had 136 new listings come to market, but the week before we had 183. The good news is we had 30 percent more sales and the sweet spot was $400 -$700K, with 50 percent of condos selling over the asking price. There is a noticeable drop of new condo listings in the central core, proving once again that the demand still exists for central condos.

Bosley Real Estate Ltd. is a full service boutique brokerage operating in Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Hope and Cambridge 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.