Ok, so maybe you didn’t get the memo. That’s understandable. It’s hard to pull yourself away from another crushing Habs defeat. But trust us when we say… Toronto real estate is just as hot as it was last month.  Sure, an impending long weekend has a natural cooling effect on the market but don’t sit by the sidelines for too long. Buying a house in a Seller’s market requires dedication, perseverance, and fortitude.

New freehold listings backed off a substantial 31.7% this week (representing over 100 fewer homes on the market).  Clearly, people were thinking more about enjoying a cold beverage by the lake than getting their houses ready to sell. While listings were down, sales were up (by 5%) which in turn created nothing short of a mini buying frenzy.  In fact 72.2% of all homes sold in the downtown core occured at or above the asking price. While this is not the highest percentage we have seen this year, the trend seems to be heading toward record territory.

The condominium market seems to have adopted a ‘slow and steady wins the race’ stance.  Listings are down by 4.3% from the week earlier but sales are down a corresponding 4.1%. Our research continues to show two very hot segments of the condo market. Nearly 50% of mid-range condos in the central core ($700K-$1.5M) and almost 50% of entry level condos in the east core ($400K-$700K) drew multiple offers. Our belief is that these two markets are being fed by would-be house purchasers unable to enter the freehold market.