March 2010 Toronto Sales Continue Soaring

Here is the monthly real estate statistical update for March 2010...

The average price of homes in the GTA was up by just 0.7% from the month before, which is some 20% up from the lows of a year ago. But the real story this past month has been the increase in properties being listed for sale. We have been in a strong sellers market since late 2009. Now, the strong real estate market has caused more people to put their homes up for sale. As this trend continues, we will see the market transition from a seller's market to a more balanced market.

However, a further surge from home buyers is anticipated as the mortgage rates are rising slightly from their incredibly low low rates. Even with a rise of 1% to 2% rates remain very affordable from the long term perspective.

So here is what The Toronto Real Estate Board has to say...

April 6, 2010 -- Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 10,430 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in March, pushing total first quarter 2010 sales to 22,418 – the best result on record under the current Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) boundaries. The average price for March transactions was $434,696. The average price for the first quarter was $427,948.

“The strong rebound in the existing home market was one of the initial drivers of economic recovery,” said TREB President Tom Lebour. “While we don’t expect to see the same rates growth moving forward, GTA households will remain confident in ownership housing as a quality long-term investment, especially as economic recovery expands across all industries.”

The annual rate of growth for new listings continued to accelerate in March. The number of new listings grew by 42 per cent compared to March of 2008.

“The average home price in the GTA will continue to grow this year, but the pace will slow as we move through the spring,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “As growth in new listings starts to outstrip growth in sales, buyers will experience more choice, resulting in more sustainable single digit rates of average price growth.”

Median Price
In March, the median price was $370,000, from the $317,500 recorded during March of 2009.

These charts provide a complete view of the real estate market. If you'd like a more detailed explaination of these charts or just to get a pdf version, let me know. Click on the chart to get an expanded view of it.








Contact me for all your real estate needs...
Ralph Evans, Sales Representative
RE/MAX Professionals Inc., Brokerage
Phone 416 236-1241
Humbertown Plaza - 270 The Kingsway, Suite 200, Toronto ON

Etobicoke Real Estate

Toronto Home Prices Soaring!

Toronto's real estate market was very active in February, with the average price of homes rising 5.5% from the month before and by over 19% from where prices were a year ago.

There were some 7,291 sales in the month making it the busiest February's on record!

So what does all this mean? We are certainly in a seller's market, with homes often selling within a week a prices that even the real estate agents can't believe. There are far more buyers than sellers right now. Low interest rates and strong consumer confidence have people in the mood to be buying property in Toronto. So, now is is a great time to be selling a Toronto property, a bit more challenging to be buying a home and getting good value for it. With a longer-term view of real estate, it is always a good time to be buying real estate. This is true across the range of homes, from Downtown condo's to mid-priced homes and even into the luxury market.

Expectations are that more people will be putting their homes up for sale in the coming weeks and months. This will increase the supply of homes for sale and

If you are in the market to buy or sell a property, let me know - I'm here to help you be successful!

Ralph Evans
www.RealEstateHelpDesk.ca

2009 Real Estate Statistics Summary

The real estate year of 2009 began amidst the economic downturn. Hardly any homes were selling and those that were had to be priced at a steep discount. Mostly there were no buyers in the market. By May 2009 consumer confidence returned to the Toronto housing market and a strong housing recovery got underway. The rally continued until it faded away into the year-end holiday time when real estate typically is slower.

Whole year average price for Toronto rose 4.2% from $379,347 to $395,460

Comparing December 2008 to December 2009 the market is up by 14% to $411,931

But the December 2009 average is down by 1.6% from November 2009.

Got all that? The reporting of market statistics is a bit crazy in real estate! I have summarized the whole thing into a couple of charts to help explain it visually:

Here is the monthly chart for the last few years:


And here is the yearly chart back to 1972:



Contact me for all your real estate needs...
Ralph Evans, Sales Representative
RE/MAX Professionals Inc., Brokerage
Phone 416 236-1241
Humbertown Plaza - 270 The Kingsway, Suite 200, Toronto ON

Etobicoke Real Estate

Continued Strength for Toronto Real Estate Prices

Toronto has seen a remarkable recovery of its real estate market over the past year. A year ago the market was pretty bleak as we experienced the economic downturn, with just 3,640 homes selling last November, along with declines in average sales prices.

So, a year later and we find just over twice as many homes were sold in November 2009, at 7,446 sales. The average sales price across the GTA was $418,460. This is down 1.2% from the month before, but still ahead 13.5% year-over-year. Home prices continue to hover in the range of new all time highs, with the outlook for the spring 2010 market to push even higher.

This chart shows the monthly sales and average prices for Toronto since 2006. Click on the chart to see a larger version.

While these numbers are aggregates for the whole Toronto GTA, they are useful for understanding the big picture. If you'd like to have the Toronto market explained to you in more depth, or to understand the details as it pertains to your home and your neighbourhood, please let me know. I'm here to help.

Contact me for all your real estate needs...
Ralph Evans, Sales Representative
RE/MAX Professionals Inc., Brokerage
Phone 416 236-1241
Humbertown Plaza - 270 The Kingsway, Suite 200, Toronto ON

Etobicoke Real Estate

RE/MAX Housing Market Outlook for 2010

To help you understand the trends in the real estate, RE/MAX has just published this report that looks back on the past year and looks forward at the predictions for 2010. This report looks at the real estate situation for all the major markets in Canada.

RE/MAX 2010 Housing Market Outlook

I'm a modern professional REMAX agent, ready to help you with Buying, Selling and Investing in real estate.

Contact me for all your real estate needs...
Ralph Evans, Sales Representative
RE/MAX Professionals Inc., Brokerage

Etobicoke Real Estate
Humbertown Plaza 270 The Kingsway - Suite 200, Toronto ON
416 236-1241

Toronto Real Estate Prices Soaring

October saw another exceptional month in real estate! It remains an excellent time to be a seller of a home, and with care, a buyer in the current market.

Most notably homes are selling rapidly, often with multiple offers. If the price is right, it will sell, almost without regard to the condition of the home. This is now a classic seller's market. There is a lack of enough good homes on the market along with an over-abundance of buyers.

For the month of October 2009 there were 8,476 home transactions across the Toronto GTA as reported by the Toronto Real Estate Board. The average price jumped ahead a further 4% from last month to $423,559 - which puts us 20% of where the market was a year ago. The Toronto market has risen 6.4% above the pre-crash high of May 2008. So this is now a new-high for Toronto home prices.

If you would like a more detailed statistical review of the current market or to see what this means for your personal situation, let me know. I'm here to help!

Contact me for all your real estate needs...
Ralph Evans, Sales Representative 416 236-1241
ralph@RealEstateHelpDesk.ca
RE/MAX Professionals Inc., Brokerage

Etobicoke Real Estate

Toronto Luxury Home Market Update...

For Toronto Luxury Homes see Ralph... Report from RE/MAX...

Mississauga, ON (November 3, 2009) -- Luxury homes sales continue to accelerate as economic recovery takes hold in major markets in Ontario and Atlantic Canada, according to a report released today by RE/MAX.

The RE/MAX Upper End Report found that momentum is building in St. John’s, Saint John, Halifax-Dartmouth, Ottawa, Kingston, Greater Toronto, Hamilton-Burlington, and London as purchasers realize that the best buying period in recent history is about to come to a close.  Sales are already on par or ahead of last year’s levels in 50 per cent of cities surveyed, while the remaining markets are set to reach 2008 figures by year-end.

“Twelve months of healthy home buying activity have clearly been crammed into five short months,” says Michael Polzler, Executive Vice President, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada.  “It’s hard to believe that the transition in the market began in May. We’ve seen steady upward momentum since that time, with solid year-over-year gains posted each and every month.”

Pent-up demand and greater affordability have been the catalyst.  Increased selection in all markets—except Greater Toronto—as well as record low interest rates have also helped fuel move-up activity from Ontario to Newfoundland.   

Leading in terms of sales appreciation is London, Ontario where the number of homes sold, priced in excess of $500,000, has climbed 11 per cent from January to September 2009, compared to one year ago.  Greater Toronto and Ottawa both reported a one per cent increase in the number of homes sold in the top end during the same period.  Within the GTA, Richmond Hill/Thornhill is particularly heated, with sales up 24 per cent over 2008 levels, followed by Mississauga— up 10 per cent.  St. John’s, Newfoundland is on par with year-ago figures.

Of the six markets reporting a year-over-year decrease in sales, four are off by just a handful of transactions (10 units or less), including Halifax-Dartmouth (off eight units), Kingston & Area (off three units), Toronto – West End (off 10 units), and Oakville (off five units).  Activity in the remaining two markets—Saint John and Hamilton-Burlington—is on the upswing, with the gap between 2008 and 2009 narrowing each month.

“A considerable shift is underway in the upper end,” explains Polzler.  “The price correction that we witnessed earlier in the year is over and prices have since firmed up.  Conditions are more balanced across the board or leaning toward seller’s territory once again.  The one exception is the Greater Toronto Area -- now largely a seller’s market -- with bidding wars making a comeback amid tight inventory levels.  The strength of the luxury segment is evident.  This is now a real estate market with all sectors working in tandem.”

Highlights:

• Upper end sales started to move upward as positive indicators of economic recovery began to emerge.  The momentum is expected to continue as Canada edges closer to positive periods of GDP growth in Q4 2009 and in 2010.


• Locals are fuelling luxury sales in the majority of markets surveyed.  Activity among out-of-province and international purchasers has waned from one year ago, although their presence in still evident in some markets.


• Sixty-one properties in Canada are currently priced over $10 million, with 18 of those located in Ontario.  The priciest Ontario home is nestled in Toronto’s prestigious Bridle Path area, listed at $23 million. 


• Three hundred properties currently listed for sale are priced over $5 million in Canada. 


• In Atlantic Canada, there are 22 listings in excess of $2 million—13 in Nova Scotia, five in New Brunswick and two in Prince Edward Island.  The most expensive property in Atlantic Canada is a $7.75 million estate on a bluff fronting the Atlantic Ocean on PEI’s north coast. 

RE/MAX is Canada’s leading real estate organization with over 17,000 sales associates situated throughout its more than 677 independently-owned and operated offices across the country.  The RE/MAX franchise network, now in its 36th year, is a global real estate system operating in more than 70 countries.  Over 6,700 independently-owned offices engage nearly 100,000 member sales associates who lead the industry in professional designations, experience and production while providing real estate services in residential, commercial, referral, and asset management. 

For more information:

Ralph Evans
RE/MAX Professionals Inc., Brokerage    
416 236-1241 

Knob and Tube Wiring

Since I practice real estate in the High park, Swansea and Bloor West Village area, I frequently encounter homes with older wiring. This is commonly known as Knob and Tube wiring because of the components it uses.

The best approach for homes with this type of wiring is to upgrade the electrical service panel and replace all the wiring throughout the house. This is not necessarily a requirement and the existing wiring may be quite safe.

Having it inspected by an electrician is always a good idea.

Here is what The Ontario Electrical Standards people have to say about knob and tube wiring

Contact me for all your real estate needs...
Ralph Evans, Sales Representative
RE/MAX Professionals Inc., Brokerage

Etobicoke Real Estate

Cell Phones and Driving

A topic near and dear to real estate agents! Yes, we spend a significant amount of our time driving around and talking on cell phones.

In preparation for today's introduction of the ban on cell-phone use, I did purchase a hands-free device.

While there is lots of chatter in the mdeia on this topic, I thought it would be most useful to go to the source, and read what the law actually says...

So here it is...

Ontario Highway Trafic Act - Section 78

Business By Referral

Are you a business owner or sales representative in a company? Would you like to receive more business by referral from other related businesses?

Let me tell you about the group I belong to, the Etobicoke Business Network.

We meet weekly, in the Etobicoke area, for breakfast. We don't just go for the food, but rather to learn about the details of each other's businesses - so that we can actively look for opportunities to make business referrals to one another.

Let me know if you'd like to come as a guest to a future meeting!