Good morning everyone;
There are great reports attached to this communication. Summaries are provided below for those who want the quick info!
It has been a very busy few weeks as quality inventory is still quite low. The slow start to spring weather has also translated in many sellers holding off on placing their homes for sale.
I am currently working with several buyers and it has been tough to locate and secure a suitable home for their needs. A few of them have properties to sell but don’t want to list until they know that have bought a home and have somewhere to go.
Over the last two weeks my clients and I have had some success after a good process. That is, we were in a position to move quickly and comfortably on homes that we liked based on our experiences up until that point.
I expect for the next two months the story will remain the same as inventory trickles into the market.
Invitation
On Friday May 10th a colleague and I will be hosting Realtor Night at the Yorkdale Mall Scotia Bank.
Feel free to come by and say hello. We will be there to answer questions between 6-9pm.
GTA REALTORS® RELEASE MID-MONTH RESALE HOUSING FIGURES
TORONTO, April 16, 2013 – Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,260 sales through the TorontoMLS system during the first 14 days of April, representing a slight dip of less than one per cent compared to the same period in 2012. The reported sales figure did benefit from one extra working day compared to last year, because Good Friday in 2012 fell in April.
“April sales to date, which were driven by strong growth in single-detached home sales in the regions surrounding Toronto, represent a positive start to the spring market. Because market conditions have remained tight, we continue to see average price growth well above the rate of inflation for many home types,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah.
The average selling price for April mid-month sales was $527,397 – up 4.3 per cent compared to $505,617 in 2012. Rates of average price growth were similar for the City of Toronto and the surrounding regions under the TREB market area.
“The annual rate of price growth so far in April is actually above TREB’s forecast of 3.5 per cent for 2013. Strong growth in the average condo apartment price in the City of Toronto was a key driver in this regard,” said Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.
GTA REALTORS® RELEASE CONDO MARKET REPORT
TORONTO, April 16, 2013 – Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 4,133 condominium apartment sales through the TorontoMLS system during the first quarter of 2013. This result was down by approximately 17 per cent in comparison to the first quarter of 2012.
New listings of condominium apartments were also down on a year-over-basis in the first quarter, but by a lesser annual rate of five per cent.
“Buyers benefitted from a substantial amount of choice in the condo market in the first quarter, especially in comparison to low-rise home types. This being said, the fact that new condo listings were down in the first quarter suggests that the market may become tighter moving forward. This will also depend on the timing and scale of future condo apartment completions,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah.
The average price for first quarter condominium apartment sales was $332,846 – down by 0.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2012.
“With months of inventory high from a historic perspective, it makes sense that the average selling price for condos edged lower over the past two quarters. However, March results were much more positive compared to the first quarter as a whole, with the average condo selling price up by two per cent annually for the GTA,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.
CMHC: Canadian Market: Overview
Re-sales: According to CMHC the market will be relatively stable in 2013, but rise along with economic conditions in 2014. The forecast for pricing on MLS should be equal to inflation, or slightly below, in 2013 and 2014. The average MLS® price is expected to rise to $367,500 in 2013 and then to $377,300 in 2014.
Housing Starts: Total housing starts are forecast to decline in 2013 in Ontario before rising modestly in 2014. Improving employment, economic growth and net migration in 2014 will help stabilize or support modest rebounds in housing starts in 2014 for most provinces.
(Housing starts are an economic indicator that reflects the number of privately owned new houses (technically housing units) on which construction has been started in a given period.)
Our Take: The Key Factors as outlined by CMHC have noted an expected increase of 1.6% employment rate, overall increase in net migration and in Economic growth which are the key factors in maintaining a stable housing market. Our next report will compare up to date statistics to the estimations made by CMHC of these three key factors. In addition, CMHC identifies an improving U.S. economy will benefit Ontario’s labour market. We will be keeping a close eye on the U.S economy on our next report as well as it has significantly decreased its growth rate since 2012.
Download the report.
CMHC: GTA Housing Market Update
Rental Market TORONTO, April 16, 2013
Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported a substantial increase in the number of condominium apartments rented through the TorontoMLS system
in the first quarter of 2013. There were 4,277 condominium apartments rented – up by almost 13 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
The total number of rental properties listed on TorontoMLS during the first quarter was up by more than 25 per cent year-over-year to 8,816.
“Demand for rental condominium apartments remained strong during the first quarter of the year. People looking for higher end rental accommodation, including those who have temporarily put their decision to purchase on hold, were likely driving rental activity during the first three months of the year,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah.
The average monthly rent for one-bedroom condominium apartments in the first quarter was $1,597 – up by almost four per cent compared to Q1 2012. The average two-bedroom condominium apartment rent was up by slightly more than one per cent over the same period to $2,114.
“The rental market has remained quite tight over the last year. Competition between renters has been strong enough to drive increases in average rents. However, growth in the number of units listed outstripped growth in the number of rental transactions in the first quarter, suggesting that renters benefitted from more choice. If this trend continues, the pace of rent growth could moderate,” commented Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.
Competition Tribunal Dismisses Case against TREB
April 16, 2013 — On April 15 the Competition Tribunal announced that it has dismissed an Application initiated by the Commissioner of Competition against the Toronto Real Estate Board, and ordered costs payable by the Commissioner of Competition to TREB.
The Competition Tribunal stated that its decision is based on its finding that the Toronto Real Estate Board was not acting anti-competitively.
The Tribunal’s Order allows TREB to continue with its current Virtual Office Website (VOW) policy while increasing access and competition.
VOWs allow consumers to access REALTOR® Members’ secure password-protected websites displaying MLS® listing data.
“Today’s decision was the right decision,” said Ann Hannah, President of TREB. “TREB and its Members will continue to offer the highest-possible quality real estate service without sacrificing the privacy rights of consumers.”
Have a wonderful weekend and a fantastic week, Anthony