We are in the middle of a mini-bull market in the resale property market downtown. When TREB released their mid-month statistics last week, many people were surprised that they showed for the first time in a year that prices and sales were actually higher for the city of Toronto than they were a year before.
Realtors all over the city have known for weeks that a significant change in the market had taken place. After months of growing inventory and stagnant demand, suddenly buyers were everywhere, and now that the dust is starting to settle, there’s no inventory left!
If you are thinking of selling, please do! We need the inventory. I’ve got several clients who are just waiting for the right property to come up. They are ready to buy now, but there is a major shortage of (good) inventory right now. As a result, just about every property that comes up that is priced well and shows well has been receiving multiple offers and bidding wars.
Looking closer at just downtown condos:
- In C01 (downtown west), April saw 290 sales versus 271 in April 2008. Average prices are $329K versus $346K last year. So sales are up 7% but prices are still down about 5% for April.
- In C08 (downtown east), April sales were 125 versus 84 in ‘08. Average prices were $319K versus $355K last year. That translates into a 48% increase in sales and a 10% drop in prices.
The trend that is developing means that I expect sale prices for the month of May (when they come out in a couple weeks) to be close to equal with that of 2008 prices and the number of sales will probably still be about 5-10% over last years numbers.
Is this just a spring boost? Or will this trend continue through the summer and fall? More thoughts on this in a couple weeks once I see the May numbers.
Questions? Comments? You know what to do.
7 Comments For This Post
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Toronto Condo Market Stats May 2009 | TrueCondos.com - The Best Source for Toronto Condos Says:
June 2nd, 2009 at 3:09 pm[...] Stats are out for the month of May from TREB, and as I predicted in my last post, they show May as being the busiest month of the year so [...]
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Toronto Real Estate Recovery 2009 | TrueCondos.com - The Best Source for Toronto Condos Says:
July 27th, 2009 at 2:49 pm[...] been talking a lot lately about supply and demand on this blog. The figures are staggering over the past few months. It is becoming increasingly [...]
May 28th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Hi Andrew,
Enjoy reading your blog so far. The average selling price is down – is this due to everything being down uniformly or the “average” being influenced by the high-end not selling as well? If you looked at each of the low, middle, and high tiers individually would all show a decreased average selling price and to the same degree?
I see many real estate agents and their clients EVERY weekend at my condo (and sometimes on weekdays too). The folder, business casual attire, and slightly lost-looking clients trailing you are dead giveaways.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:17 am
I so totally agree. I am a Buyer and the market is just horrible, the Sellers are dictating everything these days. I’ve lost in 2 (two) weeks several downtown condos to multiple offers and bid wars. The only one still available from my short list is overpriced by 5% and I am not sure what to do. If that’s a spring bubble that will burst in fall I’ll have a lemmon on my hands for years to come. If not, I may miss the opportunity to buy something with a great future value, despite the fact that is overpriced right now. The Buyer is acting up very strangely, he won’t budge a dollar on the price, it’s more like he is dictating rather than negotiating. All over the world prices dropped dramatically while here in Toronto they never did significantly. Are we seeing the “traditional” delay of 6-12 months in comparison with the US market, or Canadian market is so special defying gravity…?
May 29th, 2009 at 10:49 am
@Joel Don’t waste your time on over priced listings. Tell the seller what you think it is worth, and if they don’t budge, then move on. There are a lot of stubborn sellers still out there, hence a lot of crap listings that will sit and sit and sit.
And be patient. Don’t just buy something because you have to. The spring bubble will soon be behind us and hopefully inventory will start to grow and pressure will be temporarily taken off the markets in July and August before the fall bubble.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:50 am
@Jay If you look at median prices instead of average prices, it is the same story for April – prices are down.
Funny comment about agents at your condo. We are easy to spot aren’t we?!
June 1st, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Great blog post Andrew!
We’re seeing the same thing here in Vancouver. Lots of buyer activity is absorbing all the listings. Its great news!
June 17th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the advice
Buying & selling is an emotional process, and I guess I just really wanted that unit.
Overpriced by $15,000-20,000, small, luxurious and with a great view in Yorkville. I am moving-in soon, and probably sellers in that building will love me while buyers will hate me for setting a new record high price lol
Future will tell if the decision was right.
Thanks again,
Joel
January 8th, 2010 at 5:44 am
Things have started to change even in other parts of the world. The property market in mumbai and delhi have picked up as well.