Wanted! - The desperately low inventory of properties for sale is responsible for the intense competition going on. Buyers fear that prices will escalate even more if they wait. Example 1: A property in Brampton gets an astounding 77 bidders for a rundown detached house and sells for $166,000 over ask. Example 2: A semidetached in the Junction neighbourhood was listed for $949,000 and 33 offers came in and sold for $470,000 above the asking price. But the craziest one was this week on a property in prime High Park which was listed for $1,299,000 and it received 38 offers and sold for $2,300,000 ! ! ! !
Is it safe to say that the Toronto real estate market is moving into uncharted waters these days? The go to response to the steady increase of prices has been the lack of listings, high demand and low borrowing costs. Are we seeing a flashback to early 2017? What has transpired are stories of multiple offers, wild bidding wars and many broken dreams. So, what should we expect as we move forward this year? We complained about not enough listings last year too, so we expect to see high demand pushing prices in an upward direction for the unforeseeable future.
It was sort of a flat week for real estate. It seems buyers and sellers are waiting for the market to “show its colours.” Agents are eager to start showing properties but our research indicates that listings in both the freehold and condo sector have backed off slightly from a year ago while demand has not waivered. The condo sector is off to a good start with 32% more units sold so far this year compared to the same time a year ago.
All quiet on the home front? Well listings are dwindling but buyers are still out there. We had a listing out of our office this week and there were 179 booked showings and yesterday it received 19 offers. Will this continue and what will it be like in 2020? Will the lack of housing supply in a big city market like Toronto drive prices up? We’ve already heard that interest rates will likely drop again next year and that the housing market has finally come out of its slumber since the stress test was imposed, making conditions for home buying overall favourable. CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing) forecasts population growth, rising incomes and strong employment will support a rebound in home sales and prices for the next two years, and by 2021 the average home in Toronto will cost $949,400!