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Well, another month has come and gone (hard to imagine it’s already May with cold weather) and I’ve just posted the detailed report issued by Toronto Real Estate Board on my website. This month I wanted to take a moment and dissect the report with my online subscribers. The report, as predicted, shows the real estate market slowing down and has caused people to ponder what is going to happen.
It’s true, the real estate market is slowing down! We’ve been hearing about this for years now and the predictions are finally coming true. But how bad is this correction going to be? No one knows but one can predict! My prediction is that it will be NOTHING like the USA. We will see a decrease in the number of transactions. The same decrease that predicted by CMHC earlier in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
The prices, however, will remain strong and there are a couple of factors that play into it.
- Canada has a strong immigration pool of people coming here and as per a recent report issued, almost 60% are calling Toronto home. These immigrant are coming to Canada and buying properties to live in after renting for 1 to 3 years. I’m personally helping two families right now that haven’t even landed in Canada but are looking to find which place they are going to call home when they arrive in the fall this year. Part of my job there is to educate them on the market and let them know which are their best option when purchasing.
- There is still strong demand for properties. I had mentioned in my March review that properties which are priced competitively and show well will always sell and it’s evident in the market today. Properties that are priced well, maintained and staged are selling like HOT Cakes. I was at an offer presentation last month on a property that had five offers registered against it in Mississauga. It’s not that uncommon to see properties selling in less than 7 days with multiple offers in today’s market.
- There is strong demand for properties overall which is evident from the number of days any sold property is staying in the market. Last year, 2007, our average days on market for a property that sold were at 30 with year to date statistics at 33 and 2008 is showing that our average days on market for properties sold in April are down to 27 with year to date at 30. Last month’s days on market were 32!
- The average price went up again in April 2008 appreciating 5% to $398,687
This is an overview of some of the factors that come into play with our marketplace in real estate. There are other variables such as interest rates, unemployment rate, First time buyer incentive, Home Afford ability which all play a major role in helping the industry and shouldn’t be ignored when reviewing markets.
I’m not an economist neither am I a physic but as an investor and a professional in real estate, my prediction and belief is that this market will slow down but the prices will remain strong throughout this year. I’ll be keeping a close eye on it and keeping my clients and you posted!
The contributing factor,
Addy Saeed
Real Estate Sales Representative
Re/max Active Realty Inc., Brokerage
Web: http://www.HeyAddy.com
