Toronto Real Estate Market Update

July 16, 2014 

Hello! 

Questions I am often asked are: whether or not the Toronto housing market is in a bubble, whether there will be a crash, will prices continue to go up? 

Honestly, I don’t know. All I can do is look at the facts that surround our market and make some seemingly logical conclusions. 

The first question I have to ask is do you consider Toronto to be a world class city? 

I looked up KPMG (one of the top four world auditors) It would appear that yes, of the more than 100 cities analyzed, we are up there: 

1st in Most Youthful City, 
1st in Competitive Alternatives, 
1st in Intelligent Community, 
3rd in Transit Score (!!), 
3rd in Scorecard on Prosperity, 
4th in City of Opportunity and 
5th in Most Competitive City. 

From the Mercer Report, out of 221 worldwide cities, we qualified as 15th in their Quality of Living Index. Click here for the full report. But we don’t even make the top 20 in terms of the world’s most expensive cities. Top is London, with New York as 5th. So is there room for our real estate prices to go up? It would appear “yes”...
Click here for several specific sold statistics for June's market 

Here are a few facts:

• We are the 4th largest city in North America
• Population in the city: 2.7 million, expected to grow to 2.915 million by 2021
• Short of monumental disaster, there’s a decent chance that the supply of homes will continue to be dogged by demand.

Will interest rates go up?

Our inflation rates continue to rise more quickly than anticipated. Statistics Canada released the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) for May: Overall inflation rose 2.3% in May, after rising to 2.0% in April. This rise is attributed to higher energy prices. Certainly, the price at the pumps has been going up and down. 

This increase in inflation is good news for investors who would like to charge more for renting out their properties. Last year, the yearly amount to increase was only .7%. This year the increase has been capped at 1.5%. 

This rise in inflation is not expected to cause a rise in interest rates. The Bank of Canada is focusing on overall economic growth, and more specifically, on our job market. 

Our loonie has risen to 94c to the Greenback, and is expected to rise to 96c over the next few weeks. This concerns Stephen Poloz, governor of the Bank of Canada. He has been keeping our loonie low in the hopes of bolstering our exports, taking the pressure off the housing market and consumer spending which are the chief movers of our economy. 

There has never been a better time to buy or sell. Contact me if you are thinking of moving. 

GTA MLS Stats: 

Sales across the GTA for June at 10,180 transactions, up 15.4% when compared to June 2013. 

Prices went up by 7.4% to $568,953. 

Semi detached homes went up the most at 9.7%. Condos went up by 6.8%. 

Click here for June’s Home Price Index 

“With less than two months of inventory in many parts of the GTA, it makes sense that we continued to experience very strong price growth in June. This is especially the case for low-rise home types like singles, semis and townhouses. Strong price growth for these home types will continue through the remainder of 2014. Despite higher inventory levels, the condominium apartment market segment has benefitted from enough buyer interest to result in above-inflation price growth,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. 

I have checked a few 2013/2014 average prices. This time I am looking at condos (Let me know if there are areas and types of houses you’d like statistics on. I’d be happy to look them up for you.) To keep it uniform, I’m looking at sales for 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 parking with a balcony.....minimum requirements one would think.. 

June Sold Statistics 

C01: Niagara neighbourhood

2013: 11 sold, average sale price: $328,909, average list to sales ratio: 98%, average days on market: 27

2014: 27 sold, average sale price: $356,251, average list to sales ratio: 98%, average days on market: 31

C07: Newtonbrook, Willowdale West neighbourhood

2013: 1 sold, sale price: $299,500, list to sales ratio: 97%, days on market: 43

2014: 8 sold, av. sale price: $306,588, av. list to sales ratio: 97%, av. days on market: 22

C08: Church/Yonge Corridor:

2013: 12 sold, average sale price: $338,375, average list to sales ratio: 97%, average days on market: 22

2014: 12 sold, average sale price: $424,017, average list to sales ratio: 99%, average days on market: 21

C10: Mt. Pleasant:

2013: 2 sold, average sale price: $360,000, average list to sales ratio: 99%, average days on market: 24

2014: 4 sold, average sale price: $353,750, average list to sales ratio: 98%, average days on market: 24

C13: Banbury/Don Mills:

2013: 1 sold, sale price: $255,000, list to sales ratio: 94%, 94 days on market.

2014: 5 sold, average sale price: $302,800, average list to sales ratio:98%, average days on market: 17

C14: Willowdale East:

2013: 28 sold, average sale price: $298,729, average list to sales ratio: 98%, average days on market: 30

2014: 20 sold, average sale price: $313,248, average list to sales ratio: 98%, average days on market: 38.

Thanks for your support! I couldn’t do it without you.