The Holiday Season is upon us, and we have almost made it to the end of one of the most challenging years any of us can remember. When we felt we could control so little, we at least needed to control our space. Our homes have become our refuges, as we spend more time there. We’ve adapted our homes to be our offices and our schools, our restaurants and retreats. We’ve started to think more deeply about what home means and how to create it.
November brought a sense of urgency to the Toronto real estate market, where Covid has people buying and selling homes for completely different reasons than before the pandemic. Data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board showed that November home sales in the Greater Toronto Area were up 24.3% compared with last year, as demand for single-family homes continued to surge ahead of condos.
With listings in both the freehold and condo sectors slowing down as we near the end of the month, the debate rages on. Should buyers wait until the New Year to purchase a new home or jump into the market now? There are different points of view on this topic. If you wait there will be more choice BUT you will be competing with all the other buyers who are also waiting for the spring market. More buyers bidding on the same home will drive prices higher. If you buy now there is less choice but fewer buyers. Still, demand for single-family homes supported by low interest rates and teleworkers, will keep the housing market resilient overall. What’s driving the market now is the lack of inventory.