The CNE is open and fall clothes are already available in stores. Yikes! that means that summer is over. As kids you would either be excited for school to start or trying to squeeze ever last moment that was left to play. These last two weeks of August are traditionally slow in real estate. Most agents have told their clients to wait until after labour day to list. Our feeling is that there are a lot of last-minute trip takers out there doing their best to enjoy what’s left of summer. So, savor what’s left of August and we will pick up again in September.
The dog days of August are upon us and if you like it hot and sunny then this is a great summer, unless you’ve lost out on multiple offers and are frustrated with the low inventory of properties for sale. The good news is sales in the GTA for the month of July jumped 24% from the same period last year. Toronto sales have been rebounding all summer from a slump earlier this year as buyers are overcoming tougher mortgage qualification rules and returning to the market. With new listings slow to come to market, prices rose in July as demand outpaced supply. The average selling price for a home in Toronto in July was $839,943. The average condominium price was $627,927 up 7.7% from a year ago.
Canadian housing enters a “boring” era marking a new period of stability for housing sales, after a less-than-stellar 2018 and early 2019. We have not heard Real Estate referred to as “boring” for a long time but Doug Porter, BMO chief economist says “The big story here is that sales and prices are essentially flat on a national basis, and the market is close to overall balance, and therefore sales activity is almost right on top of it’s 10-year average, which is exactly what policy makers would like to see.” It’s a pretty good spot to be in, avoiding boom but avoiding bust as well.