Toronto existing home sales skyrocket 87 per cent

By Tony Wong, Business Reporter - Toronto Star

The January real estate market started 2010 at full gallop, with sales up 87 per cent from the year before, according to figures released today.

There were 4,986 existing home sales in January, compared to 2,670 sales the year before when sales hit an all-time low for the month, according to a report by the Toronto Real Estate Board.

“The Greater Toronto Area home market has rebounded well from the lows in sales experienced at the beginning of 2009,” said Tom Lebour, president of the board.

Placed in perspective, this January’s sales were slightly higher than the January average in the years preceding 2009 when the economy faced recession.

The average price of a home this January hit $409,058, up 19 per cent compared with $343,632 in the same month last year.

TREB warned comparisons to last year will continue to be extreme in the first quarter of this year as “we continue to make comparisons to weak market conditions at the beginning of 2009.”

Jason Mercer, senior manager of market analysis for TREB said sales and price growth is expected to be slower in the second half of this year.

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GTA Housing Market Rebound Continues in September

October 5, 2009 -- In September 2009, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 8,196 sales, up 28 per cent from September 2008. The average price for September transactions was $406,877 – up by 10 per cent compared to the same month last year. See details.

[Source: Toronto Real Estate Board]

September 2009 Toronto Real Estate Market Watch

Choosing the right Realtor

The number one mistake people often make when choosing a real estate agent when selling their home is selecting someone based solely on the fact that they’re a friend or family member who is also a real estate agent. It’s important to let your friend or family member know that you will be interviewing other real estate agents – if for no other reason but to make your friend or family member be on their game to prove they are worthy of selling your home. Remember that this is a business decision, not a personal one.

Following are four keys points to keep in mind when selecting a real estate agent:

1) Interview more than one real estate agent. This is often a big mistake people make. It is valuable to hear a couple different viewpoints on the pricing of your home, the strategy proposed for marketing and the track record of the candidates. Also remember that if you’re going to be working closely together for a few weeks or longer, it’s important that you also like the person you will be dealing with. If they turn you off in the first meeting what do you think it will be like after three weeks of continuous contact and meetings?

2) Write out your questions in advance. Do some research, and remember this is an interview. The Internet is full of informative sites that can be used to gather some questions that you should ask your candidates. It also allows you to reflect on their answers later during the deliberation phase to see who you will choose.

3) Innovative and fresh marketing strategies. Make sure you go with the real estate agent who has a broad, unique and innovative marketing strategy. If the strategy is holding open houses and advertising in the local real estate print media, they’re not offering you anything different than the average agent. Today’s marketing strategy must have a solid Internet and/or social media component as this is the way buyers today are shopping for homes. A staggering 80%+ of buyers today shop online for their real estate. Opt for the agent who comes up with more strategies to get your home in front of as many potential buyers as possible.

4) Price strategy. This is a big one. Make sure you ask lots of questions on how they came up with the proposed price for your home. Try not to get in the way here. Many homeowners have an inflated view of the value of their home and weak real estate agents will just agree with your over-priced value in order to get the listing, and then just beat you down over the coming weeks to get your price where it should have been. It will sell weeks later than it could have if you had priced it right in the first place. If a real estate agent does not respectfully disagree or challenge you on your inflated price, then you need to ask yourself if this is the right professional for you. If you have chosen your candidates wisely, you are dealing with someone who has sold many homes in your area and knows more about the price than you do. Trust the experts.

GTA Resale Housing Market Posts Best June on Record

[Source - Toronto Real Estate Board]
In June 2009, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported a record 10,955 sales, up 27 per cent from June 2008. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales in June was 100,700.
"The record result in June is testament to the fundamentally sound housing market in the GTA," said the Toronto Real Estate Board’s newly appointed President Tom Lebour. "An increasing number of households have been confident in purchasing a home in the region’s affordable and diverse resale housing market."
The average price for June transactions was $403,972 – up by two per cent compared to the
same month last year.
"The re-emergence of seller’s market conditions has exerted upward pressure on home prices,"
explained Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis. "Look for sales to remain
high relative to listings in the second half of the year. This will keep home prices growing."
Read June Market Watch

Golden opportunity to take advantage of a buyers market

[Source - Darin Perrett - HomeLife Vision Realty Inc, Brokerage]

One of the Realtors who I have dealt with over the past few years recently sent out a great article to his clients which I would like to share with you.

As you know prices have fallen in the GTA due to the economic downturn. This is a golden opportunity to take advantage of a buyers market. Some of my clients have taken advantage of lower pricing to purchase a larger home or rental property.

I’m sure most of you, like me, said to yourself from 2002 -2007, I SHOULD HAVE, I COULD HAVE, I DIDN’T, and missed out some amazing returns on profit. As you look at the history of real estate, it’s always been a winner for investors. Yes we have gone through recessions before, and if you look at statistics and charts of years past, you will see that real estate has always bounced back to bigger and better profits. Prices have fallen back to 2006 pricing.

Buyers are now in a position of strength. With prices falling and sales to listing ratio above normal this allows buyers more flexibility, choice and bargaining power. Please take a look at the most recent Market Watch Report from the Toronto Real Estate Board, attached. You will see that March was a fantastic month. The gap of unit sales from 2008 to 2009 is starting to close. This means the trend could soon slow down and we could start turning the corner of more prosperous ways again and of course back to a sellers market.

If you have recently thought about buying or upgrading to a larger home or perhaps thought about buying an investment property there has never been a better time. Unlike stocks, bricks and mortar has been a winner time and time again. You know right now that prices are down; you know it’s a buyers market; and you know that this trend will not stay like this for long. Don’t procrastinate, take advantage of this market and make some money in the next 5-10 years. Don’t say to yourself two or three years from now, I SHOULD HAVE, I COULD HAVE, I DIDN’T.

If you have any questions, concerns or need any info, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would love to help you or any of your friends & family with their real estate needs.

Take care and enjoy your spring!!!!

Darin Perrett can be contacted at:
416-802-4492 (Direct)
416-383-1828 (24 Hour Pager)
416-383-1821 (24 Hour Fax)
www.darinperrett.com
dperrett@trebnet.com

GTA Resale Housing Market Continues to Reflect Economic Times

The Greater Toronto Area resale housing market reported 5,155 sales in October, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O’Neill announced today.

This represents a 35 per cent decline from the 7,915 sales reported in October 2007 and a 25 per cent decrease from the 6,876 transactions that took place during the same period two years ago.

In the City of Toronto, there were 2,136 sales, with sales activity down 38 per cent from the 3,455 transactions recorded last October.

In the 905 Region 3,019 sales were recorded, with sales activity down 32 per cent from a year ago when 4,460 homes changed hands.

With 68,570 transactions to date this year, sales are within 16 per cent of the 81,563 transactions noted a year ago. The 2007 market referred to was a record breaking year with each month breaking records for the entire year. Putting into perspective 2008 figures are indicative of a return to a more balanced market.

Read Full Article Here

[Source - www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com]

Toronto Real Estate Board Hosts Resale Housing Market Panel Discussion

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire) - All media representatives are invited to see top executives from some of Canada's largest real estate companies gather at the Toronto Real Estate Board's 88th Annual General Meeting October 27th to discuss the state of the current resale housing market and the future of real estate.

Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Serving over 28,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada's largest real estate board. Greater Toronto Area open house listings are now available on www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com

We will post the highlights of this discussion when they are made available.