Corinne McCabe , Broker

The sun is shinning, the birds are chirping, and the hot weather is finally here —  summer is in full swing. It seems that everywhere you look, glowing faces and lush gardens greet your gaze. A laid-back attitude seems to be permeating these days. As we have settled in after the long weekend, the real estate stats were released for the month of June, and its all good news! The average sale price for a home in the City of Toronto is $915,481, up 5% from a year ago and the number of sales recorded for the entire GTA was up 10%. Home sales and prices have perked up from a depressed 2018. Buyers started moving off the sidelines in the spring, and because we saw virtually no change in the number of new listings, market conditions tightened and price growth picked up, especially for more higher density home types like condos.

It’s easy to see the freehold sector shifting into summer mode. Listings were up slightly last week by 9% over the previous week, but sales were dramatically down with 52% fewer sales last week in all areas of the city. If we go back exactly a year ago and check the stats, they are almost identical to now. Homes selling at or above the list price has dropped to 38%. We believe the buyers are still active in the marketplace but are taking a bit more time to make their decision.

The condo market buyers and sellers expressed a similar sentiment. 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 sales last week although listings increased by 14%. The percentage of suites still selling at or above the list price has dropped slightly down to 33%. Summer market statistics are often not the best indicators of housing market conditions.

Today we welcome summer, the longest day of the year! Back in the good old days of real estate Realtors would work hard up until the end of June and then they would take it easy for the summer months, as did the buyers. Over the past few years the Spring market has lasted well into summer with usually just a short break in the dog days of August. This year is no different. Listings may have slowed somewhat but the activity and the sales are still going strong. We think because of the weather not feeling HOT just yet, buyers are still attending open houses in droves and competing in bidding wars for that “perfect” home.

The freehold market has reversed its month-long trend by recording nearly 13% fewer listings last week. The sales have remained unchanged week-over-week but the number of properties that sold at or above the asking price was up to 62%, substantially higher than the previous weeks. This could be because inventory is lower and there is news in the media that mortgage rates might be are coming down which might be contributing to the bidding wars.

The condo market buyers and sellers expressed a similar sentiment. Listings were down slightly by 10% but sales were surprisingly up by 7% week-over-week. Increasing demand continues to push condo values higher. Of those recorded sales, 53% sold at or above the asking price. For most of this year the average sold-over-ask percentage has been anywhere between 48% to a high of 58% in the condo sector.

Raptors fever has descended upon Toronto! For the first time in the history of the Raptors franchise, WE THE NORTH are in the NBA finals ! GO Raptors Go !!! 

So back to real estate, as we expected the number of new listings to hit the MLS after the long weekend was innumerable. Buyers were waiting patiently for the impending influx of new listings to satisfy a hungry desire for a place to call home.

They now have choices. It was an interesting week with some listings receiving bully offers, some getting multiple offers and other properties we thought were priced to sell and did not get any offers. The question arises again as to “how do we price a property?” Now with more available listings should we price low or price at market value? It’s a mixed consensus when you ask around.

Freehold listings were WAY up by 59% from a week ago and the price range between $800K and $1.5M dominates. In the core of the city there were over 150 listings alone in that price range that were new. Sales were down last week by almost 40%, but again that is normal after a long weekend. And because of the fewer sales, the properties that sold at or above the asking price was only at 46%. That is a slight drop from the previous weeks.

The condo sector was a little different. New listings did not increase last week, and sales backed off by 28%. Of those condos sold 53% sold at or above the list price. The hottest price point again is the $400K to $700K across all core marketplaces which we recognize as a reaction to homebuyers being priced out of freehold homes.

“WE THE NORTH”- GO RAPTORS. Fingers crossed we make it to the finals! So, the long weekend is over, the weather is improving, and as we have seen year-in and year-out the final push is on for the spring market before we start thinking about heading to the cottage or our summer vacations. So far so good! As for the overall GTA housing market, news in the media is all rosy, and looking ahead a balance between demand and supply is setting the stage for further modest price increases in the near term.

New freehold listings backed off a substantial 38% last week which is predictable before a holiday weekend. No need to worry that is always the case as most agents choose to wait until the long weekend is over to list. Sales followed suit registering almost 8% fewer transactions and the percentage of homes selling at or above the list price is at 61%, a slight decrease from previous weeks.

The condominium market seems to have adopted a ‘slow and steady wins the race’ stance. Listings were down by 13% from the previous week while the number of sold condos saw no change week-over-week, 50% sold over the asking price. News in the media this week about several condo projects being cancelled has us concerned. Since 2017, there have been 6,350 condominium units cancelled in the GTA. Historically, projects were cancelled for lack of sales. What’s different recently is fully sold-out, large scale projects being cancelled. The builders have claimed a difficulty in getting construction financing and rapidly rising construction and regulatory costs. Some of these projects date back to 2016. They don’t believe 2019 will have as many cancellations as previous years.

As we approach the May 2-4 long weekend, we are crossing our fingers and hoping to get some warm weather so we can start our outdoor activities. Patios sit empty as we wait for sunny days. Wondering if it will ever warm up? But, one thing is for sure the Toronto real estate market is heating up. The buzz around the office has been exciting with new listings and agents busy helping buyers get their dream home. It’s an interesting market happening out there these days. Properties that look compelling and well presented aren’t getting offers on offer night and others are selling with sky high results. It all comes down to strategic pricing. Price low and wait....or price at market value. That is the big question! 

After a flurry of listing activity two weeks in a row, listings were still up but only a slight 6% increase. The good news is that sales were up 34% week-over-week creating nothing short of a mini buying frenzy. In fact, 65% of all homes sold occurred at or above the asking price.  While this is not the highest percentage we have seen this year, the east end and west end of the city both displayed 77% of properties that sold, were sold in a bidding war.

The condo market had a great week with a 15% increase in new listings, and sales rose slightly by 2%. The number of transactions that took place at or above the list price was at a steady 51%, a slight drop from previous weeks.

A senior economist at RBC sees evidence that the GTA market is turning a corner. The sales rebound in April, plus the rise in benchmark prices for a second month, suggest that the market is recovering from a dismal February/March which were hammered by winter storms.

The Toronto real estate market is here with a bang! It looks like after two years of weak conditions the market is making a comeback. Though it’s off the dizzying heights of 2017, we are seeing a significant ramp up of new listings and of course the corresponding increase in sales. On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales were up 10 per cent in April and the average sale price for a home in the City of Toronto is $903,992. Inventory levels are still low which means that even those homes that otherwise would be “locationally challenged” are selling quickly.

The freehold market continued to see increases in inventory for the second straight week up 22%, spread out across all parts of the city. The number of sold properties was up a staggering 31% week-over-week, and a strong 70 per cent sold at or above the list price. This is all good news and likely represents some catchup from a slow start to the year. The high-end market is moving at a slower pace. Currently in the central core there are 334 properties listed above $3 million dollars.

The condominium market in the Toronto core continues to shine. While there was only a 9% increase in new listings last week, sales increased by a whooping 44% and of those, 53% sold above the asking price. The average condo price for the City of Toronto is now at $637,181 up 6% from a year ago. Tight market conditions in the condo rental market remain in place. Average year-to-date rents for a one-bedroom apartment were up 7.3% to $2,150 and a two-bedroom apartment up 4.1% to $2,815.

Ok mother nature why are you playing games with us? It says May on the calendar but feels more like March. What gives? Rain, strong winds and cold weather is messing with our business. As we transition from this dreary weather to sunshine and cherry blossoms, the Toronto real estate market remains fickle. It’s hard to predict which properties will be snapped up and which will languish. What we may be seeing is a move towards more realistic pricing and less of setting a low asking price and letting the market show us the true value. All the more reason to make sure you hire a Realtor that knows how to properly price and market a property.

The freehold market recorded a solid 54% increase in new listings last week. It is normal at this time of year to see an increase in listings as the Spring market hits its stride. The increase is widespread across the entire core of the city but most prevalent in the $800K-$1.5M price range. In the exact opposite trend, the number of sold properties dropped 17% last week but a strong 61% sold at or above the list price. The slow down of listings means that desirable properties often end up with multiple bids.

On the condo side we saw a steady flow of new listings up 16% week-over-week. Sales followed suit to the freehold market with a 13% drop in the number of sold units, but of those 54% sold at or above the asking price. New construction condo projects are not selling as quickly as they once did so now buyers are being enticed with all sorts of incentives such as reduced down payments or several months of free condo fees. In the past we saw lineups of eager would-be buyers but now the developers are reaching deep into their bag of tricks as they face new challenges in the world of condo presales.

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.

You may have read media reports on a call to ban bully (pre-emptive) offers, which means eliminating offers that result in homes being sold ahead of the time and date specified on the listing. These bidding wars seem to be common in Toronto and other competitive urban markets where inventory is tight. In some neighbourhoods it feels like the days of 2016. We understand it might not seem fair to some, but it would be a tricky area for the government to attempt to legislate, because it could be a conflict situation with seller clients. If you conduct a bully presentation properly by informing everyone who has seen the property, or has booked an appointment, then what is unfair about that? The problem is many buyer agents don’t have the experience or knowledge on how to submit a bully offer, therefore their buyers lose out on a hot property. More training is required to help agents navigate thru this situation and if we don’t see more listings come to market, bully offers will continue to occur.

The freehold market saw another week of increases with 16% more new listings come to market and that reflected in the number of freehold properties sold, up by 34% from last week. Competition was strong with nearly 55% of properties selling above the asking price in the central core with multiple offers and the east end of the city (Riverdale and Leslieville) saw 76% of properties selling above the asking price. It’s not uncommon to see a property sell for $300,000 over the list price in these neighbourhoods.

The condo market saw a huge influx of new listings up 37% from the previous week but the number of sold units was down 17%. Urbanation released their condo market outlook report recently and here are some key facts:

1) 147,000 condos sold in the past 3 years.

2) Condo prices up 50% in 3 years.

3) Average downtown price >$1,000 PSF.

4) 123,000 new condos in development.

5) $100,000+ Income to buy average unit.

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.