Housing Market Figures Show Record Home Sales & Price Growth in August

Yesterday, September 6, 2016, Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported a record 9,813 sales through TREB’s MLS® System in August 2016.

While this sales result was 23.5% above the number of transactions reported for August 2015, it is important to note that the majority of sales are reported on working days and there were two additional working days in August 2016 compared to 2015.  When the year-over-year discrepancy in working days is accounted for, the annual percentage change in sales is closer to 13%.

“The conditions underlying strong demand for ownership housing remained in place, including a relatively strong regional economy, growth in average earnings and low borrowing costs.  Unfortunately, we did not see any relief on the listings front, with the number of new listings down compared to last year.  This situation continued to underpin very strong home price growth, irrespective of home type or area,” said Mr. Cerqua.

The average selling price for all home types combined was up by 17.7% on an annual basis to $710,410.  Both the MLS® HPI benchmarks and average prices for low-rise home types were up by double digits percentage-wise.

“Population in the GTA continues to grow.  The resulting growth in households coupled with favourable economic conditions and low borrowing costs means that we remain on track for another record year for home sales.  Against this backdrop, TREB will also be releasing new third-party research, and consumer and REALTOR® survey results throughout the fall and winter, with discussions focusing on foreign buying activity and issues affecting the supply of ownership housing,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.

For more detailed information and Economic Indicators, please use the link: http://www.trebhome.com/market_news/market_watch/2016/mw1608.pdf

Bank of Canada Keeps Interest Rate Unchanged at 0.5%

According to "Toronto Star" this Wednesday, September 7, 2016, The Bank of Canada held its key interest rate target steady at 0.5 per cent but raised concerns after the export sector disappointed earlier this year.

“While the strength in exports during July was encouraging, the ground lost over previous months raises the possibility that the profile for economic activity will be somewhat lower than anticipated,” the central bank said in its rate announcement.

The Canadian economy contracted at an annual pace of 1.6 per cent in the second quarter, worse than the 1.0 per cent pace that had been forecast by the Bank of Canada in its July monetary policy report.

Full Article: https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/09/07/bank-of-canada-keeps-interest-rate-unchanged-at-05-.html

At just shy of 10,000 transactions, this was the best result on record for the month of July

Today, August 4th, 2016, Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that TREB REALTOR® Members reported 9,989 home sales through TREB’s MLS® System in July 2016. At just shy of 10,000 transactions, this was the best result on record for the month of July.

While sales were up on a year-over-year basis, the number of new listings was down over the same period, representing the continuation of a troubling trend in the GTA.

“GTA REALTORS® have been working very hard on behalf of their buyer clients to help them find a home meeting their needs. Unfortunately, listings for single-detached and semi-detached houses and town houses continue to be in short supply. The result has been an increase in pent-up demand and annual rates of price increases well above the rate of inflation. Housing policy is now top of mind for all levels of government. Policy makers need to be focusing on solutions to the sustained lack of low-rise inventory throughout the GTA,” said Mr. Cerqua.

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 16.7% in July 2016 compared to the same month a year earlier. Similarly, the average selling price for all home types combined was up by 16.6% year-over-year to $709,825.

“Relatively strong labour market conditions, above-inflation average income growth, and record low borrowing costs have kept many households confident about purchasing a home. As long as very strong buying intentions are up against an extreme shortage of listings, expect home price growth to greatly outpace the rate of inflation,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.

For more information, use the link below:

http://www.trebhome.com/market_news/market_watch/2016/mw1607.pdf

June Numbers Show Sales Up by 7.5%, Average Selling Price Up by 16.8%, Meaning High Demand and Low Inventory

On July 6, 2016, Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 12,794 residential transactions through TREB’s MLS® System in June 2016. This result was 7.5% higher than the 11,905 sales reported in June 2015. In line with the prevailing trend so far this year, the number of new listings was down by 3.8%.

“... we are certainly in an interesting environment for ownership housing. There is no doubt that demand is at a record level, but would-be home buyers continue to face an uphill battle against a constrained supply of listings, which has perpetuated strong price growth. Buyers and sellers alike continue to benefit from the value a REALTOR® brings to a transaction,” said Mr. Cerqua.

“As the federal, provincial and local levels of government discuss housing policy in the coming months, issues affecting the lack of supply in the GTA should be of paramount importance. TREB will be undertaking, and making public, results of additional research in the second half of 2016, with the goal of proactively adding to the housing policy discussion,” added Mr. Cerqua.

The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark was up by 16% on a year- over-year basis. The average selling price for all home types combined was up by a slightly higher annual rate of 16.8% to $746,546. The single-detached, semi- detached and townhouse market segments led the way in terms of price growth.

“When TREB surveyed consumer intentions for 2016, we found that the majority of GTA households who were likely to purchase a home continued to be pointed towards some form of ground oriented housing.  This is why we continue to see strong competition between buyers in many neighbourhoods where supply remains constrained,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.

For More Detailed Info, use the link below:

http://www.trebhome.com/market_news/market_watch/2016/mw1606.pdf

‘Turbocharged’ market: Toronto luxury sales finish second in the world in 2015, says new study

A new study...  says Toronto’s luxury sales activity makes it the second hottest market in the world, according to an article published today by "Financial Post". Sales in the so-called luxury segment of the market in Canada’s largest city were up 48 per cent from a year ago, playing it just behind Aukland, New Zealand on the list of 100 markets surveyed. 
Toronto’s turbocharged luxury market continues to be a function of fairly short supply and steadily increasing demand...
For the purposes of the study, the “luxury real estate” market in Toronto was defined as properties that sold for US$3 million or more...
...Canada remains an attractive country for luxury property buyers, despite rising prices.
“Strong governmental, banking and investment systems, favorable migration trends, leading educational institutions and stable employment have all caused our market to defy the decline that other marketplaces are experiencing in terms of sales volume and average prices,” ...
For the entire article, please use this Link: http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/mortgages-real-estate/toronto-luxury-sales-finish-second-in-the-world-in-2015-says-new-study

April Record Sales Up 7.4% Despite Significant Lack of Available Inventory in Toronto. Thus Demand Remains Strong for All Types Ownership Housing

Today, May 4, 2016 Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced that there were12,085 sales reported through TREB’s MLS® System in April 2016.  This result, which represented a record for the month of April, was up by 7.4% in comparison to April 2015.

For the TREB market area as a whole, annual sales growth was experienced for all major home types except semi-detached houses.  In the City of Toronto, sales were down for detached and semi-detached houses as well as townhouses on a year-over-year basis.  This dip in sales in the ‘416’ area code was due to a lack of low-rise listings.
“Demand remained strong for all types of ownership housing. This suggests that Canadians continue to see the value in investing in homeownership, and on May 17, I encourage all homeowners to celebrate with us on National Real Estate Day,” said Mr. McLean.
“While April’s sales result represented a new record for sales, that number could have been even higher if we had benefited from more supply.  In the City of Toronto in particular, some households have chosen not to list their home for sale because of the second substantial Land Transfer Tax and associated administration fee.  The lack of available inventory, coupled with record sales, continued to translate into robust annual rates of price growth,” continued Mr. McLean.
The average selling price was up by 16.2%. The higher growth rate reported for the average home price, points to a greater share of high-end home sales this year compared to last.
“As we move into the busiest time of the year, in terms of sales volume, strong competition between buyers will continue to push home prices higher.  A greater supply of listings would certainly be welcome, but we would need to see a number of consecutive months in which listings growth outpaced sales growth before market conditions become more balanced,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.

Summary of TorontoMLS Sales and Average Price
	April 1 - 30, 2016
	2016			2015
	Sales	Average Price	New Listings	Sales	Average Price	New Listings
City of Toronto ("416")	4,248	766,472	6,155	4,057	690,658	7,144
Rest of GTA ("905")	7,837	724,235	10,097	7,197	605,336	10,894
GTA	12,085	739,082	16,252	11,254	636,094	18,038

TorontoMLS Sales & Average Price  By Home Type
	April 1 - 30, 2016
	Sales			Average Price
	416	905	Total	416	905	Total
Detached	1,401	4,661	6,062	1,257,958	881,413	968,437
Yr./Yr. % Change	-4.0%	11.2%	7.2%	18.9%	20.7%	18.9%
Semi-Detached	371	766	1,137	901,159	572,318	679,618
Yr./Yr. % Change	-10.8%	2.8%	-2.1%	23.8%	16.9%	18.2%
Townhouse	440	1,402	1,842	611,899	514,774	537,974
Yr./Yr. % Change	-2.0%	4.8%	3.1%	11.0%	14.8%	13.4%
Condo Apartment	1,997	812	2,809	436,545	343,439	409,631
Yr./Yr. % Change	17.4%	9.4%	15.0%	7.0%	7.8%	7.6%

Record Sales, Tremendous Growth of Real Estate Values But Not Enough Supply of Listings in the First Quarter of 2016

Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced, in the beginning of April, a record TREB MLS® home sales for the first quarter of 2016 following a strong result for March transactions.  There were 10,326 sales in March and 22,575 sales in the first quarter. The year-over-year growth rate for sales was 15.8% for Q1 2016 and 16.2% for March 2016.  For the TREB market area as a whole, double-digit year-over-year rates of sales growth were experienced for all major home types during the first quarter.
The positive annual growth in sales was not mirrored on the listings front. The number of new listings entered into TREB's MLS® System during March and the first quarter were down compared to the same periods in 2015.
The average selling price for all home types combined was up 12.1 per cent year-over-year in March and 13.6 per cent in the first quarter.
“Demand was clearly not an issue in the first three months of 2016, regardless of the housing market segment being considered.  The supply of listings, however, continued to aggravate many would-be home buyers.  We could have experienced even stronger sales growth were it not for the constrained supply of listings, especially in the low-rise market segments.  The resulting strong competition between buyers has underpinned the double-digit rates of price growth experienced so far this year,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.

Summary of TorontoMLS Sales and Average Price March 1 - 31, 2016
	2016			2015
	Sales	Average Price	New Listings	Sales	Average Price	New Listings
City of Toronto ("416")	3,627	699,745	5,528	3,178	656,022	6,092
Rest of GTA ("905")	6,699	681,919	9,336	5,709	590,320	9,343
GTA	10,326	688,181	14,864	8,887	613,815	15,435

TorontoMLS Sales & Average Price  By Home Type March 1 - 31, 2016
	Sales			Average Price
	416	905	Total	416	905	Total
Detached	1,075	3,879	4,954	1,174,358	837,217	910,375
Yr./Yr. % Change	3.2%	14.2%	11.6%	12.4%	18.2%	15.7%
Semi-Detached	319	667	986	817,611	551,903	637,867
Yr./Yr. % Change	11.5%	25.4%	20.5%	12.9%	15.7%	13.2%
Townhouse	397	1,154	1,551	623,534	498,296	530,353
Yr./Yr. % Change	21.4%	11.4%	13.8%	13.9%	13.6%	14.1%
Condo Apartment	1,808	833	2,641	416,251	330,865	389,319
Yr./Yr. % Change	20.7%	36.1%	25.2%	4.3%	6.6%	4.3%

Record Sales in February, Up 21.1%, Strong Competition Between Buyers makes Avg Selling Price go up by 14.9%. Some Properties Sell in the Same Day they are Listed.

Today, March 3rd, 2016, Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported a record number of home sales through TREB’s MLS® System in February 2016. There were 7,621 transactions reported this past February – up 21.1% compared to February 2015.

The number of new listings entered into TREB’s MLS® System was also up on a year-over-year basis, but by a lesser 8.2 per cent. The fact that the annual rate of sales growth outstripped the annual rate of new listings growth shows a tightening of market conditions compared to last year.

“Even after accounting for the leap year day, sales were above the previous record for February set back in 2010.  Sales were up strongly from the 15th day of the month onward as well, despite the new federal mortgage lending guidelines coming into effect that require at least a 10% down payment on the portion of purchase prices between $500,000 and $1,000,000,” said Mr. McLean.

Seller’s market conditions continued throughout the GTA in February.  Strong competition between buyers resulted in a healthy growth in selling prices. The average selling price was up by 14.9 per cent annually to $685,278.

“Recent polling conducted for TREB by Ipsos suggested that GTA households will remain upbeat about purchasing a home in 2016. Early sales results for January and February certainly support this view.  With strong sales up against a constrained supply of listings, home prices continued to trend strongly upward,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.

TorontoMLS Sales & Average Price  By Home Type
	February 1 - 29, 2016
	Sales			Average Price
	416	905	Total	416	905	Total
Detached	855	2,772	3,627	1,211,459	816,705	909,761
Yr./Yr. % Change	11.8%	23.1%	20.3%	16.3%	17.4%	16.1%
Semi-Detached	239	486	725	848,835	534,476	638,106
Yr./Yr. % Change	21.9%	21.8%	21.8%	20.7%	12.7%	16.1%
Townhouse	253	849	1,102	578,667	493,092	512,739
Yr./Yr. % Change	11.0%	18.1%	16.4%	13.9%	13.8%	13.7%
Condo Apartment	1,439	607	2,046	435,579	327,086	403,392
Yr./Yr. % Change	25.6%	26.7%	25.9%	17.8%	1.6%	13.4%

A Higher Down payment if you purchase a property for more then $500.000

According to an article published by the Financial Post, Canadians looking to buy homes between $500,000 and $1 million will have to put down larger down payments as new federal rules took effect Monday, February 16, 2016. 

Under the changes, homebuyers must now put at least 10 per cent down on the portion of a home that costs more than $500,000. Buyers can still put down five per cent on the first $500,000 of a home purchase. Homes that cost more than $1 million still require a 20 per cent down payment.

This change … is the first attempt to recognize the fact that some parts of the country are in need of a mild tap on the break, while other parts of the country really need to continue to receive stimulus.

To read the entire article, please use this link: http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/mortgages-real-estate/new-mortgage-rules-for-homes-over-500000-go-into-effect-as-liberals-aim-to-limit-housing-risks

RECO - The Most Reliable Source of Information When You Are Contemplating Buying or Selling Real Estate

There’s no shortage of information available about buying and selling real estate, though much of it focuses on market trends and how to get the best price. But you also need information about your rights and responsibilities as a buyer or seller. How do you ensure you are protected?

Fortunately, the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) is here to help. Just click the links below and exposed yourself to a fantastic World of important information from the most reliable source.

http://www.reco.on.ca/firsttimebuyer/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-17qUDy4Ys&index=1&list=PLWUG7craJL2q46bMnTVH_iaFE6dvMsaeG

Government of Canada Takes Action to Maintain a Healthy, Competitive and Stable Housing Market

Today, December 11, 2015, Finance  Minister Bill Morneau announced changes to the rules for government-backed  mortgage insurance to contain risks in the housing market, reduce taxpayer  exposure and support long-term stability. Effective February 15, 2016, the  minimum down payment for new insured mortgages will increase from 5 per cent to  10 per cent for the portion of the house price above $500,000. The 5 per cent  minimum down payment for properties up to $500,000 remains unchanged.

For example:Let’s say someone is buying a home for $700,000.  The minimum down payment would be:5% of the first $500,000 = $25,000 Plus, 10% of the remaining $200,000 = $20,000 Total minimum down payment would be $45,000

Here is the link to the Government's Official News Release:  http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1024399&tp=1&_ga=1.114461767.1561939570.1449867552

RECORD SALES FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER The average selling price for all transactions also up by almost 10% to $632,685.

Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced today, December 3rd, that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 7,385 home sales through TREB’s MLS® System in November 2015 – up by 14 per cent compared to November 2014.  This result also represented the best result on record for the month of November.  Sales through the first eleven months of 2015 amounted to 96,401.

“Not only did we see a record sales result for November, but with one month left to go in 2015, we have already set a new calendar year record for home sales in the TREB market area, eclipsing the previous record set in 2007.  Sales were up on a year-over-year basis for all major home types, both in the City of Toronto and surrounding regions.  This suggests that the demand for ownership housing is widespread, from first-time buyers to long-time homeowners across the GTA,” said Mr. McLean.
The average selling price for all transactions was also up by an annual rate of 9.6 per cent to $632,685.
“Demand for ownership housing has remained strong in the GTA throughout 2015, with sales generally increasing at a greater annual rate compared to new listings.  This means that competition between buyers has strengthened in many neighbourhoods in the City of Toronto and surrounding regions.  The end result has been upward pressure on home prices well above the rate of inflation in most cases,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.

Summary of TorontoMLS Sales and Average Price  November 1 - 30, 2015
	2015			2014
	Sales	Average Price	New Listings	Sales	Average Price	New Listings
City of Toronto ("416")	2,863	654,221	4,123	2,641	616,241	3,790
Rest of GTA ("905")	4,522	619,050	5,486	3,835	550,825	4,926
GTA	7,385	632,685	9,609	6,476	577,502	8,716

TorontoMLS Sales & Average Price  By Home Type November 1 - 30, 2015
	Sales			Average Price
	416	905	Total	416	905	Total
Detached	901	2,550	3,451	1,018,621	762,326	829,241
Yr./Yr. % Change	0.7%	18.5%	13.3%	8.8%	13.5%	10.7%
Semi-Detached	297	467	764	750,608	504,928	600,435
Yr./Yr. % Change	14.2%	21.0%	18.3%	12.4%	12.5%	11.8%
Townhouse	298	851	1,149	549,649	460,274	483,454
Yr./Yr. % Change	11.2%	15.8%	14.6%	9.1%	12.0%	10.9%
Condo Apartment	1,351	573	1,924	415,316	315,223	385,506
Yr./Yr. % Change	13.3%	22.7%	16.0%	5.4%	1.5%	4.1%