Tag Archives: buying homes
Realistic pricing key to selling home
Luann Lasalle – The Canadian Press
Home buyers can expect more choice and lower prices in the second half of 2010, while sellers can expect fewer offers for their homes, says one of Canada’s leading real estate brokers.
“Accurate pricing is going to be really key,” said Phil Soper, CEO of Royal LePage Real Estate Services.
In its latest housing survey, Royal LePage said yesterday the real estate market will start to slow in the second half of 2010 with the number of sales expected to fall compared with the hot activity early in the year.
“I would say if you’re a seller, the first thing you should expect is fewer multiple offers on your home,” Soper said from Toronto.
Sellers who try to squeeze extra money out of their homes will likely have their homes “languish” on the market, unless they’re exceptional properties, he said.
“I believe we are through the highly volatile spiking of prices and activity levels, both up and down,” Soper said. “We’ll see a much a more stable, but frankly less exciting in a good way, real estate market in the next 18 months,” he said.
Soper said a lot of buyers were frustrated by a tight supply and “overexuberant competition,” particularly in the first quarter, but that’s easing with increased listings.
In the first half of this year, about half of real estate transactions were from people who were looking to buy a home, but weren’t necessarily selling one, he said.
“It took a while for sellers to get comfortable that the recovery from the recession was real. We had an all-time record number of new homes come on the market in the first quarter of 2010. It started to impact prices in the second half (of 2010).”
Soper also noted that “fiscally aware 20-somethings,” especially women, are now much more interested in buying homes than they were in the past.
Royal LePage said some markets will see a decline in home prices and sales volumes toward the end of 2010, but they should be seen more as a reflection of the highs reached late last year rather than a major slowdown.
Prices for detached bungalows and two-storey houses were up about 9% in the April-June quarter, compared with the same time last year. Condominiums were up 7.3%.
Royal LePage is forecasting that by the end of 2010, home prices will rise an average 6.8% over last year, while the number of home sales will increase by just over 1% from 2009.
Vancouver and Toronto showed some of the largest increases in the second quarter of 2010.
Average prices in Vancouver were up 16.6 to 19.1% while prices in Toronto rose by an average of 7.7 to 11.4%.
However St. John’s, N.L., had the country’s biggest increase with prices up an average of 18.4% to 9.6%.
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Toronto real estate comes in like a lion
Toronto real estate agents reporting March mid-month housing statistics
Greater Toronto Realtors reported 4,353 sales through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) during the first two weeks of March.
This represented a 70% increase compared to the 2,562 sales recorded during the same period in 2009 when resale transactions had dipped markedly due to the recession. The mid-month sales total was also 16% higher than the previous March mid-month high reached in 2006.
“The spring-like weather in the first half of March brought the first green sprouts of the recurring spring market. Every year, monthly sales climb steadily through May,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Tom Lebour. “People are buying homes because they are confident in the current economic recovery and mortgage payments on the average priced home remain affordable.”
The average price for March mid-month transactions was $440,153 – a 20% increase over 2009. New listings within the Toronto Real Estate Board boundaries were up 34% to 8,540.
“Look for double-digit annual price increases to cease later in 2010, as new listings rebound from the low levels experienced in 2009,” said Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “Increased listings will give buyers more choice, resulting in less upward pressure on home prices.”
Summary Of March Sales And Average Price
City of Toronto (sales +74.9% | price +22.8%)
2010 Sales: 1,726 | Average Price: $491,680
2009 Sales: 987 | Average Price: $400,454
Rest of GTA (sales +66.8% | price +18.2%)
2010 Sales: 2,627 | Average Price: $406,298
2009 Sales: 1,575 | Average Price: $343,594
All of the GTA (sales +70.0% | price +20.4%)
2010 Sales: 4,353 | Average Price: $440,153
2009 Sales: 2,562 | Average Price: $365,499
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416−388−1960
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Immigration helps drive Toronto real estate market
By Tom Lebour – Toronto Star
While low interest rates have enhanced affordability, they are only one factor contributing to the Toronto real estate market’s strength. The steady stream of newcomers to the Greater Toronto Area, all of whom have housing needs, are another important factor.
According to Canada’s 2006 Census, a detailed statistical report issued every five years, our proportion of foreign-born citizens has been growing since 1951 and has reached its highest level in 75 years.
It found that nearly one in five people in Canada are now foreign-born. In fact, Canada ranks second only to Australia, where 22% of the population is foreign-born.
The GTA’s immigration statistics are even more staggering. In Toronto, nearly 46% of the population is foreign-born. That’s the highest percentage in North America and even higher than any of Australia’s major cities.
Our diversity of employment opportunities and housing stock attract people from all over the world, the majority of whom currently hail from India, China, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. A third reason that newcomers are drawn to our country, though, is to join family and friends, and with a strong support system in place, many immigrants are buying homes more quickly than before.
The 2006 Census reports that 72% of immigrants live in dwellings owned by household members, up from 68% in 2001, with the most significant increase being among those living in Canada for less than 10 years.
This equates to more housing demand not only in Toronto, but in the surrounding area as well. While the City of Toronto attracts the majority of newcomers at nearly 60%, the number of immigrants in the 905 region is also increasing. In Markham nearly 57% of the population is foreign-born, in Mississauga nearly 52% of residents were born outside of Canada and in Brampton that figure is 48%. In Vaughan the number of foreign-born residents is comparable, at nearly 45%, with Ajax and Aurora not far behind at 30% and 22%, respectively.
Regardless of where you live in the GTA, you can thank immigration for bringing thousands of new potential buyers to you each year. While the figure has fluctuated between 70,000 and 100,000 throughout the past decade, in 2007, the year for which most recent data is available, we welcomed 93,000 newcomers to our city.
A recent Scotiabank report notes that due to Canada’s aging population and low fertility rates, a decade from now, 75% of the country’s population growth could come from immigration as compared to the current rate of approximately 60%.
This equates to a steady demand for housing in our city as newcomers are drawn to Toronto’s exceptional mix of cultural, employment and housing diversity.
As Canada’s gateway to the world, the Greater Toronto Area’s future and, specifically, that of its real estate market is unquestionably bright.
Tom Lebour is president of the Toronto Real Estate Board, a professional association that represents 28,000 realtors in the Greater Toronto Area. Go to the www.TorontoReal EstateBoard.com for more information.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
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