Good morning to all;
Things are warming up and market pricing and sales volumes are increasing. The Toronto market has seen luxury home sales surge as a result of lack of inventory and demand from both local and foreign buyers. I am working with an increasing number of buyers but finding difficult to get good quality homes to satisfy them. Many agents are in the same situation.
If you are at considering a move or sale, please let me know!
This coming week I will be staging two properties and will share some before and after pics. once complete.
In The GTA Market (See full report)
GTA REALTORS® Release Monthly Resale Housing Market Figures TORONTO, March 3, 2016 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported a record number of home sales through TREB’s MLS® System in February 2016. There were 7,621 transactions reported this past February – up 21.1 per cent compared to February 2015.
The number of new listings entered into TREB’s MLS® System was also up on a year over-year basis, but by a lesser 8.2 per cent. The fact that the annual rate of sales growth outstripped the annual rate of new listings growth shows a tightening of market conditions compared to last year.
“Even after accounting for the leap year day, sales were above the previous record for February set back in 2010. Sales were up strongly from the 15th day of the month onward as well, despite the new federal mortgage lending guidelines coming into effect that require at least a 10 per cent down payment on the portion of purchase prices between $500,000 and $1,000,000,” said Mr. McLean.
Seller’s market conditions continued throughout the GTA in February. Strong competition between buyers resulted in a healthy growth in selling prices. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 11.3 per cent year-over-year. The average selling price was up by 14.9 per cent annually to $685,278.
“Recent polling conducted for TREB by Ipsos suggested that GTA households will remain upbeat about purchasing a home in 2016. Early sales results for January and February certainly support this view. With strong sales up against a constrained supply of listings, home prices continued to trend strongly upward,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.
Government may crack down on lucrative agent tactic
Contract assignments have netted B.C.-based agents hefty profit, but the government has promised to crack down on the controversial practice.
British Columbia’s premier, Christy Clark, has promised to step in and curb contract assignments if the Real Estate Council of B.C. fails to do something about it first.
“So what we’ve said to the [Council] is, ‘we’re going to give you some time to try to solve this,’ because that’s their job – they are a self-regulating profession, to go out there and make sure their members are observing the rules,” Ms. Clark told reporters after her recent Throne Speech.
“If they don’t fix it, we’re going to fix it for them. And we’ll do it in short order because what is happening in the housing market in the Lower Mainland, and in a lot of communities, it’s crazy. And that is fuelling part of the problem.”
Clark’s comments came on the heels of a Globe and Mail investigation into the controversial practice of contract assignments some agents are using to earn extra income.
Assignment clauses allow buyers to transfer his or her interest in a property to a third party prior to the closing date. In some cases – including one profiled in the Globe investigation – the property is transferred to the buyer’s agent who then re-lists the home at a higher price.
Such was the case for the Rappaports, a Vancouver couple who sold their home for $5.2 million to the agent of a wealthy foreign businessman who then re-listed the home for $6.58 million.
“It’s obscene,” Ms. Rappaport told the Globe. “I had no idea our house was going to be resold. We were shocked when it was flipped.”
And it’s a practice that may be playing a part in raising already-sky-high Vancouver home prices. But it’s one that soon may be a thing of the past.
Construction Blog # 17
So wiring is under way! Jorge, contractor extraordinaire (and brother from another mother) has begun plotting out the pot lights, electrical boxes and switches. It does take a lot of planning to make sure to get things working the way you want. Jorge is helping me tonnes and really is one of the main reasons we are able to do this with the budget we have. Jorge and his blood brother also helped with the plumbing and HVAC.
Issues do come up literally on a daily bases but we plow though each one as they come.
The next construction blog won’t happen for a while as the remaining plumbing and electrical will take about 3 weeks -1 month and not much to show (and hopefully discuss)
Attached is a pic of what will be the kitchen and living area. There are 4 sets of garden doors that will open up to a terrace (eventually).
Have a fantastic weekend and great warmer week!
Anthony