Corinne McCabe , Broker

For most people the New Year starts January 1st, but for some others, teachers and realtors included, the day after Labour Day everything starts new on that day. We are heading to the start of the fall market and there seems to be quite a buzz about all the new listings ready to hit the market. Houses for sale in prime Toronto neighbourhoods are scarce these days. After a quick uptick in listings and activity the market has backed off to traditional summer levels. Agents are telling their sellers to wait until after the labour day weekend to list.

While price growth has been mostly evident in the city of Toronto so far this year, other regions still have a long way to recover from 2017.  (See link attachment.) As the summer winds down, we have nothing to complain about. It was one of the hottest we have experienced in some time.

In the freehold market we saw a slight dip of 22% in new listings week over week, while sales continued to hold steady. Low inventory levels are driving up prices and producing multiple offers in nearly 48% of home transactions last week. The condo market was the reverse with new listings holding steady but a 36% drop in sold units. Sales at or above the list price are currently at 36%, which is a solid indicator that the condo market is still trading well.

So, the battle is over and the Toronto Real Estate Board's request to appeal a dispute with the Competition Bureau has been declined by the Supreme Court of Canada. TREB has maintained that releasing the previous sold prices violates client privacy and its own copyright over the information. TREB will have 60 days to conform. TREB believes personal information of home buyers and sellers must continue to be safely used and disclosed in a manner that respects privacy interests and will be studying the required next steps. "By removing TREB's anti­competitive restrictions, home buyers and sellers in the GTA will now have greater access to information and innovative real estate services when making one of the most significant financial decisions of their lives." Commissioner Matthew Boswell

The Toronto real estate market is a little sleepy these days. With only two weekends left before its back to school, buyers are taking a time-out to enjoy what's left of summer. Agents say many homeowners are gearing up to list in September. Lots of potential sellers were discouraged from listing in the spring as buyers struggled with tighter mortgage rules and rising interest rates.

Last week in the freehold sector the number of new listings saw no change from the previous week, but there was a 33% increase in sold properties, and of those 41% sold at or above the asking price.

The resale condo market sector is following the same trends. New listings were the same as the previous week, but sales have climbed by nearly 45% and the number of condos sold at or above asking was still at still at a healthy 41%.

The dog days of August are upon us, but great news for the Toronto Real Estate market. The average sale price for the City of Toronto in July was $824,336, up 8% compared to July of last year which was $759,441. The positive results over the last two months are very encouraging. Toronto's housing market seems to be stabilizing from the federal government's tighter mortgage rules that came into effect in January. The scarcity of listings helps to keep prices firm. Buyers who were cautious are feeling a little more confident the market does not have further to fall. With all this encouraging good news it looks like we could be trending toward positive territory for the second half of 2018!

The freehold market recorded a 29% uptick in new listings last week. Most of the new listing activity was recorded in the central core, with 16 new listings priced above $3M and as high as $39M. Sales however took a tumble last week with 30% less sales then the week before. Clearly, people were thinking more about enjoying a cold beverage by the lake with the long weekend approaching, than buying a house. But having said that 53% of all homes sold, occurred at or above the asking price.

Condo market buyers and sellers expressed a similar sentiment. This seems in line with historical trends as we are now in the summer month of August. New listings were up 36% from a week earlier and the majority of the new listings were in the $400K to $700K price range once again. Though sales were down by 28%, overall sales activity remains brisk with 51% of condos selling at or above the asking price.