May 22, 2008
House sales continue slide
Home resales in Toronto continue to drop - but prices are still going up.
Resale housing activity across the Greater Toronto Area for the first half of May is showing signs of increased weakening.
Sales are down 12 per cent across the GTA compared to the same time last year.
Existing house sales in the GTA went down by 7 per cent in April, as compared to the same month a year ago.
In Toronto, sales plummeted 15 per cent in the first two weeks of May.
That has led to an increased inventory of homes for sale.
The good news, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board, is that there is more choice for home buyers.
The typical home now is on the market an average of 35 days, as opposed to 28 dqays a year ago.
However, the slower activity is not reflected in the prices.
Home values are still rising, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.
Prices across the GTA averaged $400,817, up six per cent from a year ago.
In Toronto, prices were up six per cent to $437,205.
And although sales are softening, there are still pockets that enjoyed a heightened activity during the first half of the month.
The Annex saw transactions climb 39 per cent.
The Danforth area saw sales spike 29 per cent.
And Streetsville, in Mississauga, saw a five per cent increase in the price of detached homes, the board reported today.
May 5, 2008
GTA Real Estate Update
GTA resale housing market moderate in April, but prices up
With 8,762 houses sold in the Greater Toronto Area, April’s resale housing activity was down seven per cent from the record 9,452 transactions from the same timeframe a year ago, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O’Neill announced today.
“The market is showing signs for a healthy 2008 compared to the diminished activity we saw in the first quarter of the year,” said Ms. O’Neill. “We continue to experience a supply and demand situation and to-date, it remains a sellers market.”
Sales activity however, was markedly different in the 416 and 905 regions. With 3,467 transactions in the City of Toronto, sales were down 10 per cent from a year ago. The 905 region was down five per cent from April 2007 sales, with 5,295 homes changing hands.
April’s GTA average price was $398,687, up eight per cent from the same period a year ago. In the City of Toronto, the average price was $446,781, up six per cent from last April. In the 905 region the average price increased five per cent compared to a year ago, to $367,196.
Several neighbourhoods experienced strong sales in April.
Scarborough East (E08) saw an eight per cent overall sales increase compared to April 2007, driven by robust detached home sales.
Caledon (W28) experienced a 15 per cent increase compared to the same timeframe a year ago as a result of strong condominium sales.
Condominium sales also drove Willowdale (C07) to a 32 per cent increase from a year ago.
In Thornhill sales increased eight per cent from last April due to strong detached home sales. “The number of listings on the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service has increased to 24,539, up seven per cent from a year ago, which is good for homebuyers, who will find a greater range of options in the market,” said Ms. O’Neill. “With prices continuing to appreciate and increased listing inventory there are favourable factors in today’s market for consumers.”
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May 2, 2008
Calgary is in a buyer’s market
Sellers need to pay attention to the current market
Calgary’s MLS listings are taking twice as long to sell over last year, according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB). Calgary’s MLS listings remain elevated for April indicating two things: Calgary is in a buyer’s market, and secondly, sellers need to pay attention and price their homes appropriately for today’s market and ensure that their homes are well staged and well kept in order to encourage buyers.
Single family Calgary metro new listings added for the month of April totaled 3,377, an increase of 8.9 per cent from April 2007 when new listing added totaled 3,100 and a decrease of 3.3 per cent from last month, when new listings coming to the market were 3,493. Calgary metro condominium new listings added in April 2008 were 1,493, showing an increase of 29 per cent from the 1,157 new condominium listings added in April 2007 and a decrease of 4.4 per cent from last month’s condominium listings of 1,561.
Single family Calgary metro sales for the month of April came in at 1,363, showing a decrease of 34.7 per cent from the 2,086 sales in April 2007 and showing a decrease of 3.9 per cent from last month’s sales of 1,418. Condominium sales for the month of April were 581, a decrease of 30.8 per cent from the 839 condominium sales recorded in April 2007 and showing a slight increase of 2.8 percent over the 565 condominiums changing hands in March 2008.
“Given the hectic pace of the resale market in the last few years, many buyers are breathing a sigh of relief. There are more listings on the market, which means more choice for the buyers, with more inventory, buyers are taking their time to find the home that is right for them at the price that is right for them. What that means however, for a seller; you now need to pay more attention to how you price your home. The market is no longer bearing the prices that it did a year ago. A professional Realtor who understands what is going on in the market can help the seller with all of these issues in order to more effectively sell a home”, said Calgary Real Estate Board President, Ed Jensen.
The median price of a single family Calgary metro home in April 2008 was $420,000 showing a decrease of 2.8 percent over April 2007, when the median price was $432,000 and showing no change from last month when the median price was also $420,000. All Calgary Metro MLS(R) statistics include properties listed and sold only within Calgary’s City limits. The median price is the price that is midway between the least expensive and most expensive home sold in an area during a given period of time. During that time, half the buyers bought homes that cost more than the median price and half bought homes for less than the median price.
The average price of a single family Calgary metro home in April 2008 was $474,564, showing almost no change from last year, up just 0.1 per cent from April 2007, when the average price was $474,250. The average price of a Calgary metro condominium was $312,586, showing a 5.1 per cent decrease from April 2007 when the average price was $329,429. Average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differentials between geographical areas.