Corinne McCabe , Broker

Wanted! - The desperately low inventory of properties for sale is responsible for the intense competition going on. Buyers fear that prices will escalate even more if they wait. Example 1: A property in Brampton gets an astounding 77 bidders for a rundown detached house and sells for $166,000 over ask. Example 2: A semi­detached in the Junction neighbourhood was listed for $949,000 and 33 offers came in and sold for $470,000 above the asking price. But the craziest one was this week on a property in prime High Park which was listed for $1,299,000 and it received 38 offers and sold for $2,300,000 ! ! ! !

Toronto's job market added 210,000 new jobs in 2019, the largest annual increase on record and wage gains were the strongest since 2008. All this combined with low mortgage rates and early reports of eye-popping sales can spur on buyers, but the buzz can also discourage some buyers who don't want to get carried away in competition. Bottom line ... we need more listings!

In the freehold sector listings continue to be a source of concern as we have indicated above. One year ago, we had 28% more listings than we do today. The good news is that sales were up week-over-week almost 60%. But given the fewer listings the number of homes that sold at or above the asking price remains high at 58%.

The condo market is well on its way to market health again. We saw listings increase 7% week-over-week and compared to the same period last year listings have climbed by 16%. The number of sold condos increased by 27% last week and the increasing demand continues to push the number of units selling at or above the list price to 57%, which points to continued strength in the high-rise market.

Is it safe to say that the Toronto real estate market is moving into uncharted waters these days? The go to response to the steady increase of prices has been the lack of listings, high demand and low borrowing costs. Are we seeing a flashback to early 2017? What has transpired are stories of multiple offers, wild bidding wars and many broken dreams. So, what should we expect as we move forward this year? We complained about not enough listings last year too, so we expect to see high demand pushing prices in an upward direction for the unforeseeable future.

The freehold sector is starting to show signs of life as we saw more listings come to market last week. Compared to last year at the same time though we are down 32% in new listings. The lack of inventory discourages some buyers from even looking because they don’t see much selection out there. That in turn suppresses supply because they’re not listing their existing homes. With more sales than listings happening the increased competition resulted in an increase 48% of available properties selling at or above the asking price.

If you thought of shifting your dreams of home ownership to the condo market would make life easier, be prepared for a little disappointment. Throughout 2019 we watched as competition for resale condos increased dramatically from about 35% of all condos selling at or above the list price at the beginning of the year to over 48% by December. January 2020 has not shown any relief. In fact, last weeks numbers showed that 55% of condos sold in multiple offers, thanks in part to a shortage of listings coming to market. Compared to last year at this time we are down 27% in new condo listings.

It was sort of a flat week for real estate. It seems buyers and sellers are waiting for the market to “show its colours.” Agents are eager to start showing properties but our research indicates that listings in both the freehold and condo sector have backed off slightly from a year ago while demand has not waivered. The condo sector is off to a good start with 32% more units sold so far this year compared to the same time a year ago.

The condo market stats were released this week and it continued to perform very well in 2019, with strong growth in sales and average price. It’s a relatively affordable entry point into home ownership for first-time buyers. Year-over-year price growth in the City of Toronto, which accounted for 71 per cent of transactions, was similar to the GTA, coming in at an increase of 10.3% resulting in an average price of $660,379. 

Tighter market conditions in the condo market translated into increased competition between buyers. The popular sweet spot price for condos is in the $600-$700 price range.

The condo apartment rental market was better supplied throughout 2019 with the number of listed condos up 35.6% compared to 2018. Strong job growth across all sectors combined with cultural diversity continued to fuel population growth in 2019, and all these people needed a place to live, with many initially pointed to the rental market. Average condominium rents were up year-over year. The average one-bedroom condo was up 3.1% to $2,209 and a two bedroom condo was up 3.4% to $2,868 a month.

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.

Happy New Year! A new year and new decade begins. Let’s sum up the real estate market for 2019.

• GTA realtors reported 87,825 sales through TREB’s MLS system — up 12.6%

  compared to 78,015 for 2018 - the decade low.

• New listings entered into the MLS system (153,000) were down 2.4%

  compared to 2018

• The average selling price for the GTA was up 4% to $819,319 and for the

  City of Toronto the average price was up 5.6% to $874,834

• The average sale price for a condo in Toronto was up 10.3% to $656,233

  compared to $594,381 in 2018.

The real estate market surprised most housing economists in 2019. It started off slow with slumping sales and price declines but quickly turned a corner as home buyers who were on the sidelines moved back into the marketplace starting in the early spring. Buyer confidence rallied with a strong economy and declining mortgage rates over the course of the year.

With home sales showing no signs of fading in the new year, all eyes will be on the supply issue. Buyers are hoping that a new year will bring a rush of new listings to market, but industry leaders are not so optimistic as the market ended last year with a plunge in inventory that sent prices in the opposite direction. Toronto’s home prices are predicted to rise 6% this year. This is due to a strong local economy, high employment, strong immigration and mortgage rates are unlikely to rise.

It is too early to predict what will happen. Generally speaking, January is a slow month for new listings, but demand is high and the weather has been kind so hopefully we will see a faster release of new properties on the market.  
The waiting game begins!