Corinne McCabe , Broker

Here we go. The Santa Claus Parade is the definitive Toronto tradition and if that didn`t signal the start of winter then this week`s little blast of cold air sure did. Despite the temperature drop there is no sign that the real estate market is slipping into hibernation just yet. We know there are many frustrated buyers out there but we would encourage them all to keep looking. If you are contemplating putting your buying intentions on hold you will pay the ultimate price when prices escalate in the Spring...just like they did last year.

The number of new listings in the freehold sector dropped by 9% last week to 220 units. Sales jumped by 15.2% in the 416 and activity was higher with 65.3% of homes trading at or above the list price. Surprisingly the number of sales is nearly identical to the same period last year however competition amongst buyers was not as fierce as only 49% of homes traded at or above the list price.

The resale condo market continues with its torrid pace. Listings last week increased by 3.4% and sales decreased by 3.1%. Despite a slight widening in the listing to sales gap competition for suites increased as nearly 50% of sold condos traded at or above the list price. One thing we have been noticing is the number of offers on larger suites has increased dramatically. While this piece of data is not generally reported, our company sells enough condos to have anecdotal data which shows that some condos are receiving as many as 6 offers and it is not surprising to see a suite sell above 110% of list price. 

Did you survive Trumpaggedon? Withstand Trumpocolypse? Whatever the side of the fence you stand on, at least on this side of the border, life as we know it hasn’t changed much over the last few weeks. And while we don’t yet know what a Trump presidency is going to look like yet, or how it will affect us here in the north, our hope is that reason and calm markets will prevail. So far so good.

The freehold sector did not see much change in the number of new listings last week; however sales dipped by about 38% from 173 the previous week to 125. This drop is consistent with declines in sales over previous years and is more a statement of the approaching winter market than uneasiness in the US federal election outcome and continued adapting of the new Canadian mortgage rules which are likely only playing a small role. Still, sentiment for home ownership remains strong as nearly 65% of home transactions in the 416 sold at or above the asking price.

If you thought living in a condo was just a passing fancy...you were wrong. The condominium market is having a hard time keeping up to demand. Compared to last year at this time new condo listings are down 20% while sales are up 30%. If you think those numbers are exciting, consider that nearly 45% of transactions are happening at or above the list price compared to a mere 20% last year.

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.

Inquiring minds want to know if the new mortgage rules are having an impact on housing activity in Toronto. Frankly we are as curious as the next guy but as it stands now we have not seen much change. Overall activity in the 416 continues to be strong as demonstrated by rising prices across every category of shelter. For the first time, affordability in the rental sector is raising concerns as the average price of a one bedroom condo increased by over 7% in the 3rd quarter of 2016.

Tight supply in the freehold market has been the ongoing story for the last few years. Consider that we have 63% fewer listings than the same period last year yet only 15% fewer sales. The net result is more sales happening above the list price (66.5% in 2016 compared to 55% in 2015). We will certainly witness a decline in resale listings over the next 2 months as we cruise into the winter season but it remains unclear if sales will drop in a corresponding fashion. The east core was the hot spot last week as 84% of all homes sold above the list price compared to 62% in the west core and 58% in the central core.

The condo sector held steady in terms of new resale listings as the number of available suites dropped a marginal 3.5% to 384 units. Sales were virtually unchanged from the previous week however there seems to be a slight uptick in demand as the number of units sold at or above the list price hit 49.8%, a new record for Toronto. Last week the hot spot of the market was reserved for the entry level segment ($200k-$400k) where a remarkable 66% of all condos sold at or above the list price.

This Fall has not been kind to our city. First, the Blue Jays got knocked out of the playoffs, then the Federal Government introduced tighter mortgage regulations. It was nothing more than a one-two punch to the stomach. But hey, we’ve been down this road before and if any place can be resilient in the face of adversity you know it’s Toronto. We just get back up, dust ourselves off and get back to business.

Clearly, homeowners aren’t terribly concerned about the market these days. Yes, listings went up last week by 26.5% and while sales remained consistent with the previous week, activity was much stronger as nearly 78% of homes sold at or above the list price. That is the highest level of activity since the Spring market of 2016. Still, the sweet spot for downtown Toronto remains as single-family homes in the $700k-$1.5M range. The notable slow spot last week was the ultra, high-end home ($3+m) that only recorded 8 sales last week compared to 18 the previous week.

The condo market had another stellar week with a modest 8.1% increase in the number of new listings to just shy of 400 units. While sales tapered off by a negligible 3.5% excitement in the condo market reached a new record with 47.1% of all sales last week trading at or above the list price. Nowhere is competition more fierce than in the east core where 14 out of the 16 sales that took place received multiple offers. 

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.

Ah September. Our favourite month. It’s not just the hot days and cool nights, or the pennant race or even the fact that pro football is back. For us, September means more listing and sales activity and after a traditionally slower August, it’s time to open the floodgates of new property inventory. It’s not a minute too soon either. August inventory levels were challenging at best.

Have you ever turned on a hose and put your thumb on the end? As the pressure builds up it gets more difficult to contain the water. When you finally let go, the initial blast is really strong. That pretty much sums up the market this month. Listings have slowly been increasing, including a 16.8% increase last week. This was hot on the heels of a 41% increase in listings the week before thereby causing a significant rise in reported sales. More choice generally means the number of multiple offers decreases, however pent up demand has counteracted that theory and as a result we saw a 10% increase in sales at or above the list price (to 72.8%).

After a brief spike a few weeks ago, it seems that listings have tailed off a bit last week, decreasing by 15.8%. It is interesting to note that in the central core, listings are decreasing in the $400-$700k category while increasing in the $1.5- $3M range. Overall, demand is still very high across the 416 however and as a result of fewer listings we saw a 61% increase in sales over the same period with a record setting 44% of condos being traded at or above the list price.  

Parents Unite. We made it through the first week of school. Granted it was a short week but still... And while our minds shift from lazy days at the cottage sipping frosty beverages by the dock to the daily grind of school drop offs, after school programs and homework, one thing is for sure...the real estate market never sleeps. Sure it ebbs and flows but it is alive and well in the 416.

The freehold sector witnessed a 41% increase in new listings last week which clearly signaled the start of the fall market. As we have seen time and time again, there is a week long lag in sales as holdbacks to offer night afford ample opportunity to view homes. Last week was no surprise. Sales were lower than the previous week (mostly due to one less day of trading) even though almost 62% of the homes that did sell sold at or above the list price. The problem of low inventory becomes more recognizable when you consider that a year ago we had over twice as many listings and three times as many sales.

The condominium sector remains strong last week with a more modest 22.5% increase in new listings and while sales backed off by 68% (due mostly to the holiday Monday), we still recorded a healthy percentage of properties trading at or above the list price (35.6%). It was last year at this time that we started to see a noticeable shift in competition for condos when the percentage of sales at or above the list price started to trend above 20%. 

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.

Webster's Dictionary has two definitions for the word “drought”. The first is a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain and the second is a prolonged or chronic  shortage or lack of something expected or desired. Toronto, it seems suffers both. Not only has it been the driest summer in recent memory, we are also suffering through the longest listing drought on record. Maybe there is some good news on the horizon; It is bound to rain eventually and the fall market is closing in. The question is... will it be enough to quench our housing desires? 

The freehold sector reversed an earlier trend of increased listings by re - cording a slight 13.7% drop in available homes while also recording a 6% increase in sales. This was slightly lower that the sales target we predicted last week however competition for those homes was up.  Last  week  almost 67% of home transactions were at or above the list price. That number is 15% higher than for the same period last year despite having virtually the same number of sales. 

We love witnessing the condo market’ s continued success. Listings remain unchanged from the prior week yet sales backed off marginally (3.6%). Despite the slight reduction in the number of sales, over 40% of suites traded at or above the list price. If you really want to get a true picture of today’ s condo market in the 416 consider that one year ago there were 220 more listings than there were last week, 100 fewer sales and less than 17% of suites sold at or above the list price. 

No question about it, if you like it dry, hot and sunny then this has been the best summer ever. If you’ve lost out on multiple offers and are frustrated with the low inventory of homes then this has been the worst summer. While the weather is likely to cool, we don’t expect inventory levels to pick up significantly in the near future.

The freehold sector experienced a small uptick in the number of available homes coming to market last week while sales dwindled by about the same amount (38%). If history teaches us anything it’s that next week’s sales numbers will improve dramatically since most homes coming to market include an offer date a week or more in the future. Still, historically low inventory levels are driving up prices and producing multiple offers in nearly 62% of home transactions last week.

The condo sector continues its successful march. last week we registered a 19% increase in new listings while sales continue to hold steady with 282 suites sold in the 416. Overall, nearly 39% of all units that traded sold at or above the list price, the second highest percentage on record. The east core, representing Leslieville, Riverdale and the Beaches, certainly has fewer condo units available but competition for those units is the strongest with 6 out of 8 selling for more than the list price, and it seems that the bigger they are the more offers they are receiving.   

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

It’s mid July and the first smell of a calmer real estate market is in the air. The kids are happily ensconced in camp, the roads are less congested, the Blue Jays are closing in on first place and you've got your new favourite book packed and ready to take to the cottage. This is what life in the big city is supposed to look like! Sure it's hot, but we are Torontonians. We can brush off the heat alerts faster than The Four Tenors can brush off a member of their troop.

The freehold sector has finally loosened up some of its grip on listings as last week there was a 27% increase of homes to choose from. Sales remained strong with 156 sales in the 416 and only 64.7% sold at or above asking. The hot spot for the week was the east core where there were 10 more sales than listings which boosted multiple offers to well over 75%. Sup-ply and demand dynamics remain firmly in place in Toronto. As a comparison, last year, for the same period, there were 34% more listings and 9% fewer sales (with a dreamy level of only 54% of homes selling at or above the list price).

The condo market continues to show its fortitude. Last week it recorded 592 new listings across the 416 compared to a staggering 750 at the same time last year. While listings are down, sales are up over 33% to 295 but what is really astonishing is the number of condos selling at or over the list price. Last year that number was 18.5% compared to 33.6% last week. Sales above the list price has not dipped below 30% since mid February of 2016.

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

It’s hard to believe that we’ve hit the half way point of 2016 already. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the start of the spring market. Ah, those were heady times, buyers sat patietly waiting for the impending influx of new listings to satisfy a hungry desire for a place to call home. Well, months later, many of those same buyers are still waiting. New listings barely trickled to the market causing more multiple offers than ever before, not just on houses but condos as well.

It’s not unusual for listings to taper off before long weekends. The last thing anyone wants to do is hang around the city when all their friends are at the cottage. That explains the 46% decline in new listings last week. On the other hand, if you are determined to buy there is a slight chance that your buyer competition is also sitting by the dock somewhere. Clearly that was the thinking last week as sales only backed off by a marginal 17% and we still recorded 70% of homes trading at or above the list price.

Condo market buyers and sellers expressed a similar sentiment. Listings backed off by 25.5% while sales slipped by 19%. The condo market is still filling in the gaps left by the housing market as 35.5% of all condos sold happened at or above the list price. For a better understanding of how the market has performed consider that two years ago a mere 12% of condos sold in multiple offers.   

First we had Brexit and this week we have "schexit" also known as the last day of school (a unanimous vote to leave). For parents it means no more early morning rush to get the kids packed and out of the house. Traffic around the city gets a little lighter even with increased construction. But as we cruise into those hot summer months we have the opportunity to take a bit of a breather from our fast paced lives, take a trip out of town, enjoy some time sitting by the dock or under your favourite patio umbrella...unless you are trying to buy a house, in which case all bets are off.

The freehold sector remained relatively unchanged from the previous week. Listings were only down slightly while sales held the line. Competition for homes is still strong with three out of every four sales happening at or above the list price. While this is frustrating buyers across the 416 that same enthusiasm for home ownership is spreading throughout the province. We have seen multiple offers on homes in Markham, London, Barrie and even little island get-aways in Georgian Bay.  

Like the freehold market, the condominium sector is behaving in a similar manner. Listings are down a slight 1% and sales backed off only slightly. This seems in line with the historical trends as we enter the summer months. It is interesting to note that sales at or above the list price continue their scorching pace with a new record 43.1%. Bigger suites in the downtown core, particularly those in the $700k-$1.5m range are recieving the most attention with over half selling above the list price. In our opinion this is a clear indication of shifting trends in the residential market.

In real estate terms we call this time of the year the final push. It's that time for sellers to get into the market just before summer hits and thoughts turn to sipping beverages by the lake or taking the family on a summer adventure. Whatever your plans are, if you are a buyer, this is the time to consider getting into the market as new listings will tend to taper off over the next few months.

A 36% increase in new listings over the last week made a significant contribution to the choices that buyers had. New listings appeared equally across the 416 with a notable increase in the $700k-$1.5m price range. The first time buyer market, $400k-$700k continues to be tight across the downtown core although there seems to be a bit more choice in the west core. Despite the increase in new listings, sales have remained virtually unchanged yet of the 195 homes sold, 145 of them sold over asking (74.3%).

The condo market was a little less forthcoming in new listings last week, increasing available units by 14.5% to 614. While that seems like a large inventory it is important to recognize that sales also improved by over 6% and 38.2% of all transactions in the resale condominium sector happened at or above the list price. This continues to be the trend for 2016.

Low interest rates, immigration, shortage of housing. These are the “go to” topics used to describe Toronto’s housing dilemma. Frankly we are starting to sound like a broken record these days. The truth is that while these are sources of a frustrating market, they don’t tell the full story of Toronto’s great housing success. Simple demographic shifts in population mean that over the next 20 years more and more people will be moving to cities and Toronto is one of the top destinations on the global stage. For the foreseeable future this could be the new normal.

The freehold sector continues to tighten its grip on the market with a 34.4% decrease in new listings and a 46.2% increase in sales. Those two factors contribute to the perfect storm of price increases as nearly 75% of homes traded last week sold above the list price. It’s interesting to take a quick peek at the market from one year ago when we had nearly twice as many new listings and just marginally more sales for the same period. The truth is that federal policies can’t slow down Toronto’s speeding train of price appreciation. The simple solution is to add more housing to the existing stock. Change the balance, change the market.

The condominium sector is feeling the same intensity and pressure from lack of listings as the freehold market. Consider that active new listings have retreated by 8.2% over the last two weeks while sales have increased by 22.2%. In addition, we have hit the highest percentage of condos selling at or above the list price, now nearly 41%. In the central core’s $400k-$700k market nearly 50% of sales were in multiple offers and for the first time the ultra high end category (condos over $3m) are receiving multiple offers. 

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

It might be Friday the thirteenth, but this week the luck is all good, especially if you are a seller with a hot property to move. With the spring market in fully gear we are seeing a significant ramp up of new listings and, of course, the corresponding increase in sales. Inventory levels are still critically low which means that even those homes that would otherwise be considered “locationally challenged” are selling quickly.

The freehold market recorded a solid 15.7% increase in new listings last week. Normally we would say that this was just what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately, that increase was overshadowed by a nearly 19% increase in sales with a strong 79% selling at or above the list price, the highest level in 2016 so far. The majority of the new listing activity came in the central core, while the hottest area for sales was in the east with nearly 87% of homes selling at or above the list price.

The condo market had a spectacular week with a 6.4% increase in new listings, to 661, while sales rose by 8.9% to 318 suites. Nothing truly shows the pure strength of the condo market like the number of transactions that took place at or above the list price and last week we set a new record in the 416 recording a remarkable 37.4% of units sold. The hottest price point is the $700k to $1.5m across all core marketplaces which we recognize as a reaction to homebuyers being priced out of freehold homes.

Toronto's real estate market is hotter than the release of the new Drake album. Our recommendation is to get used to the "new normal" of low interest rates and tight supply. In our opinion, strong fundamentals for continued growth in the housing and condominium sector across the Greater Golden Horseshoe will continue for some time. 

With any luck the number of freehold listings should increase over the next few weeks, as is the typical spring tradition. Last week we saw a modest 7.7% increase in listings which paled in comparison to the 47% increase during the previous week however sales were off by nearly 12% which could be attributed to the number of holdbacks (a later date set for offer reviews) of properties listed the week before. Despite a lower number of sold homes, our research indicated that 71.1% sold at or above the asking price.

The condominium sector has the ability to confound us from time to time. last week we recorded a marginal 3% drop in new listings online and a 8.9% decline in sales. That would generally lead us to believe that pressure in this sector was easing off a bit however the key market indicator, sales at or above the list price, remains at close to an all-time high at 35%. No surprise that the hot price point of the condo market remains suites under $700,000 price point.

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

We hate to add fuel to the flame of an already sizzling real estate market in Toronto, but if you aren`t keeping score on what`s been happening you are missing out on some very valuable information. For the last few years we`ve been keeping better track of the Toronto market than Sportsnet keeps track of Josh Donaldson`s batting average. But averages don`t tell the whole story...that`s where we come in. Giving you the lowdown based on the experiences of over 260 agents working in the 416!

Last week we reported that the number of new listings took a rather substantial dive. Well, this week listings are back up across the city by over 45% to 260 and are more in line with the previous few weeks. This is still well off the pace of last year`s 330 new listings. Not only is there a difference in the number of new listings but the makeup of those listings has changed dramatically too. Consider that we are recording a third fewer new listings in the entry level price range ($400k-$700k) while the number of $3m+ price range homes has increased by more than 25%. Sales have remained strong, lending further proof to the ongoing inventory issues. 75% of all homes sold in the 416 sold at or above the list price. Last year at this time we recorded a nearly identical number of sales yet with more choice there were fewer multiple offers, which aided in keeping the number of sold at or above the asking price to a more reasonable 68%.

Just 16% more suites came on line last week compared to a week earlier bringing availability levels to 637 units. While slightly off last year`s number of 707, the important statistic we are following is the number of sales. Last year we saw 260 sales with nearly 30% being sold at or above the list price. This year we have reached two new records; 318 units sold of which 35.8% sold at or above the list price. 

Houston, we have a problem. After the Season opener (no, not of the Toronto Blue Jays, we are talking about the spring real estate market) we welcomed the rise of new listings, both house and condo, coming on line. This was welcome relief to buyers who have been waiting on the sidelines to finally take the leap into home ownership. For three weeks in a row, new listings improved and, by natural process, sales improved as well. Then we hit a roadblock as new listings tapered off dramatically. We expect new listing levels to rise again but chronic supply issues may be the new normal for the Toronto real estate market.

The freehold sector produced some interesting revelations last week. While listings backed off by nearly 50%, sales across the 416 remained consistent with the previous week, as did the percentage of homes that sold over the asking price, 78%. Here are some interesting things we saw. First, four out of the ten homes sold in the $3M+ range in the central core had multiple offers. While that speaks directly to the health of the high-end market in the city, the entry level home ($400k-$700k) continues to be a challenge for first time buyers as 90% of homes sold in that range had multiple offers and sold over the asking price. 

The condominium market has showed its strength again last week. New listings dropped by 21.5% while sales increased by 17.9%. Sales at or above the list price came in at a near record 34.7%. This is the fifth week in a row where over one third of condos in the 416 sold at or above the list price. The statistic becomes more interesting when you look at the central core versus the east and west parts of the city. The central core has more choice but traditionally smaller suite sizes yet a full 33% of them are selling in multiple offers while the east and west sections, with less supply but bigger suites are attracting a much more robust 47% rate of sales at or above the list price. This is most likely due to a higher number of end-user purchases.