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Toronto Real Estate Market Report: April 2012 Statistics

May 6th, 2012
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Toronto Real Estate Market Report: April 2012 Statistics Photo

Following is TREB’s market report for April 2012:  Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 10,350 transactions through the TorontoMLS system in April 2012. This level of sales was 18 per cent higher than the 8,778 firm deals reported in April 2011. The strongest sales growth was reported in the single-detached market segment, with transactions of this home type up by 22 per cent compared to a year ago.

“Interest in single-detached homes has been very high, both in the City of Toronto and surrounding regions. Growth in single-detached listings has not kept up with demand, which means competition between buyers in this market segment increased. With this in mind, it was no surprise that the strongest annual price increase was also experienced in the single-detached segment,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President, Richard Silver.

Buyers: Should You Have A Pre-Offer Home Inspection Done?

Apr 21st, 2012
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Should You Have A Pre-Offer Home Inspection Done? Photo

A couple of months ago I wrote a blog post asking the question, “Sellers: Should you have a pre-listing home inspection done?” (read it here).

Despite all the benefits, the reality is that some sellers opt not to have one done. Fair enough. It just means that the responsibility is in the buyer’s hands.

Buyers essentially have two options. They can submit a conditional offer and then have a home inspection done after the offer is accepted. Or they can have a “pre-offer” home inspection done before submitting an offer.

In a market like Toronto’s, where offer hold-back dates are common and multiple buyers are coming to the table, pre-offer home inspections make a lot of sense. They allow potential buyers to satisfy themselves ahead of time and to submit an offer without a home inspection condition. A firm offer carries a lot of weight and is much more attractive than a conditional one.

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Toronto Real Estate Market Report: March 2012 Statistics

Apr 5th, 2012
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Toronto Real Estate Market Report: March 2012 Statistics Photo

Following is TREB’s market report for March 2012:  Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 9,690 sales through the TorontoMLS System in March 2012. This result was up by almost eight per cent in comparison to the 8,986 deals reported during the same period in 2011.

“The GTA resale market has not suffered from a lack of willing buyers this year. Buyers have been spurred on by the positive affordability picture brought about by low mortgage rates,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver. “The challenge has been a lack of inventory. Many listings have attracted multiple interested buyers. Strong competition has led to annual rates of price growth well above the long-term average.”

The average selling price in the GTA was $504,117 in March – up by 10.5 per cent in comparison to March 2011.

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$421,800 Over The Asking Price. Seriously?

Mar 15th, 2012
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Seriously? $421,800 Over The Asking Price? Photo

That’s right. A bungalow in north Toronto sold earlier this month for $421,800 over the asking price. The home was listed at $759,000 and sold in multiple offers for a whopping $1,180,800.

According to an article from today’s CBC News (reposted in full, below), there were a total of five bids above $1 million dollars. This tells us that the successful purchaser wasn’t alone in their seven figure valuation of the property.

Needless to say, there’s been plenty of attention from the media, realtors, and the home buying public over the last few weeks.

The price isn’t the only reason this story is generating so much hoopla though. The location and style of the home are notable as well.

Remember, we’re talking about a bungalow… in north Toronto…

Would the reaction have been as strong if this was a 3-storey detached in The Beach? Or a mansion in the Annex?

Or what about Queen West? A colleague of mine just listed a stunning million dollar property there. I popped into the agent’s open house today and the place really is impressive – something right out of Architectural Digest. Now that is the kind of property (and location) that could sell for a significant price without all the accompanying hullabaloo.

Okay, we’ve looked at price, location, and style of home. From what other angle can we view this north-Toronto bungalow sale?  How about the type of buyer involved in the purchase? That’s the focus of today’s CBC News article. Check it out…

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Toronto Real Estate Market Report: February 2012 Statistics

Mar 5th, 2012
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Toronto Real Estate Market Report: February 2012 Statistics Photo

Following is TREB’s market report for Febuary 2012:  Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 7,032 sales in February 2012 – up 16 per cent compared to February 2011. New listings were also up over the same period, but by a lesser 11 per cent to 12,684. It is important to note that 2012 is a leap year, with one more day in February. Over the first 28 days of February, sales and new listings were up by ten per cent and six per cent respectively.

“With slightly more than two months of inventory in the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) market area, on average, it is not surprising that competition between buyers has exerted very strong upward pressure on the average selling price. Price growth will continue to be very strong until the market becomes better supplied,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver. “It is important to note that both buyers and sellers are aware of current market conditions. This is evidenced by the fact that homes sold, on average, for 99 per cent of the asking price in February,” continued Silver.

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Sellers: Should You Have A Pre-Listing Home Inspection Done?

Feb 22nd, 2012
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Should You Have A Pre-Listing Home Inspection Done? Photo

Before listing a house for sale, I always advise my seller clients to have a pre-listing home inspection done. In my experience it’s best for everyone involved (the sellers, the buyers, and the realtors) to know the condition of the home before an offer is presented.

Any reasonable buyer is going to make their offer conditional on having a home inspection anyway, so why not nip potential problems in the bud?

If we’re holding back offers on the property, then having a pre-listing home inspection is even more essential.

Sure, buyers who are planning on participating on offer night have the option of getting their own pre-offer home inspection done. But not everyone is keen on spending $400-$500 and a few hours of their time on a property that they might not even end up getting (more on this in a future blog post).

I’ve seen plenty of buyers decide to “sit this one out” and not participate on offer night because there was no pre-listing home inspection available.

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Five For Friday

Jan 6th, 2012
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Five For Friday Photo

It’s roundup time!  Let’s take a look back at some of the more interesting articles and photos that popped up over the past few weeks…

#5.  What Apocalypse? Housing Market Predictions For 2012 [Infographic]

Five For Friday Photo     On December 28th, the folks over at BuzzBuzzHome  posted an informative infographic illustrating the CMHC’s major predictions for the 2012 Canadian real estate market. The total number of units is expecting to increase by 1.9% over 2011. And the average price is expected to increase by 1.2% over 2011. Read the full article here. (more…)

What’s In Store For The 2012 Real Estate Market?

Dec 31st, 2011
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Last month, the Toronto Real Estate Board posted the above video to their YouTube channel. In the video, Senior Manager of Market Analysis, Jason Mercer, takes a look back at the 2011 real estate market and a look forward to what we can expect in 2012. Warning: the video is over 25 minutes long! Not to worry – I sat through the entire thing myself and have summarized the main points below (you’re welcome).

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An Upgraded Version Of Realtor.ca Is Now Available!

Dec 3rd, 2011
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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An Upgraded Version Of Realtor.ca Is Now Available! Photo

There are a number of websites available that allow the public to search for properties currently listed for sale.  Many of these websites belong to real estate agents (take my website, for example).  Some belong to real estate brokerages (check out my brokerage’s site here).  And then there are sites like Zillow.com (in the states) and Zoocasa.com (here in Canada).

Probably the best known and most widely used of these public sites is Realtor.ca (formerly mls.ca).  If you’ve used the site before, you know that it does have some limitations… Having said that, a handful of useful upgrades to the site were released on November 29th.

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Condo Ownership: What To Expect

Oct 27th, 2011
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Condo Ownership: What To Expect

In the city of Toronto there are realtors who focus specifically on condos, and there are realtors who focus specifically on houses. There’s a third group as well – the realtors who focus on both condos and houses.  I’m one of those guys.  Condos and houses each offer their own unique set of challenges, opportunities, and rewards.  I can’t imagine giving up one for the other.

When it comes to buying/selling a condo versus buying/selling a house, there are a number of key differences to keep in mind.  Part of my job is to educate my clients as to what these differences are and to make sure they understand how condo living differs from freehold ownership.

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