January 17, 2008
Home Sales Fall in December
Canadian existing-home sales fell 1 percent in December, the national Realtors’ association said, citing bad weather. Sales of existing homes in major markets listed on the Canadian Real Estate Association’s Multiple Listing Service fell to a seasonally adjusted C$10 billion ($9.83 billion) in December, from C$10.1 billion in November, the Ottawa-based group said yesterday. Unit sales fell 2.5 percent to 29,156 units, the group said.
The average resale price rose 13.1 percent in December from a year earlier to C$332,836. Unit sales for all of 2007 rose 7.9 percent from the previous year to a record 362,934 units, the group said.
The MLS service captures about 80 percent of all homes sold in Canada.
January 9, 2008
Impending tax drives sales
Buyers racing to beat Toronto’s incoming land transfer tax created an uncharacteristic spike in home sales over the holiday season, but a slowdown is on the horizon after the tax comes into effect. “The fourth quarter of any calendar year tends to be very slow for the real estate market, but this was anything but slow,” said Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage Real Estate Services. “It is painfully obvious that the new tax that’s being imposed on people in Toronto’s 416 area drove activity.”
As of February 1, Toronto home buyers will pay a new fee to the city in addition to the existing provincial land transfer tax. It will nearly double the tax bill for home buyers, raising the tab on a $375,000 home to $7,575 from $4,100.
“The rate of activity in areas where the tax will not impact people was much lower than in neighbouring areas where the tax comes into effect,” Mr. Soper said.
Housing unit sales were up approximately 21 per cent in the GTA in the fourth quarter, compared with 7 per cent in surrounding areas, according to data from the Toronto Real Estate Board.
The strong fourth quarter helped the Toronto market shatter previous sales records in 2007, according to data released by Royal LePage. The average price of a two-storey detached home in the city hit $506,900, up 8 per cent from last year. The price of a detached bungalow rose 8.9 per cent to $413,375, and that of a condo unit rose 10.4 per cent to $280,505.
Two years ago a two-storey home in the city averaged $461,282, while a bungalow went for $362,611 and a condo unit $242,202.
After the current wave of buyers subsides, both price gains and sales should start to decline.
“We do expect activity in Toronto this year to fall by about 4 to 5 per cent versus 2007,” Mr. Soper said. “We don’t expect to see a year like 2007 in terms of raw activity for a few years to come.”
December 10, 2007
Commercial real estate report
Toronto Real Estate Board Members reported another active month, with 895,632 square feet of space leased through the TorontoMLS system, Commercial Council Chair Garry Lander announced today. “This is a nine per cent increase over October’s figure of 821,889.”
Industrial space continued to trade within a narrow range in November, averaging $5.63 sfn for all size categories. Commercial/Retail space traded for $14.63 sfn, also within its standard range.
Sales and Market Highlights
In November, TREB Members recorded 71 sales on Industrial/Commercial properties, of which 37 were Industrial properties in all size categories these averaged $137.32 per square foot. Which compares to a price of $96.30 per square foot derived from Non-MLS sources.