John in Toronto Real Estate News
Real estate sales rebounded slightly in the second half of February according to the Toronto Real Estate Board. Resale sales were down 14% during the first two weeks of February but ended up down 11% percent for the entire month. Prices increased in the GTA by 4% over the same month last year.
There were 7% fewer homes available for sale over last February. The fact that home buyers had fewer homes to chose from likely influenced the drop in sales in February. The decrease in supply may also explain why homes were on the market for just 30 days in February compared to 35 days last year. As markets cool down, we expect homes to be on the market for a longer period of time.
Here is the full press release from the Toronto Real Estate Board:
GTA Resale Housing Down but Healthy
President Maureen O'Neill announced today, Toronto Real Estate Board Members recorded 6,015 resale home transactions last month, down 11 per cent in the Greater Toronto Area overall , 14 per cent in the City of Toronto and 9 per cent in the 905 suburbs compared to February 2007.
“To get an accurate perspective of current market conditions, a number of factors have to be considered,” said Ms. O’Neill. “With 18,018 properties available for sale, inventory has decreased seven per cent from last February.
“This indicates that despite moderate sales, there is not an over-supply of homes on the market. Generally, properties that are listed are selling fairly quickly and with a list to sale price ratio of 99 per cent, for the most part, sellers are realizing their asking price.”
Despite the decrease in the number of sales from this time last year, there was positive news with respect to prices in February. At $382,048 in the Greater Toronto Area and $424,235 in the City of Toronto, the average price increased four and two per cent respectively compared to February 2007. As well, the time on market in February was 30 days compared to 35 days a year ago.
Despite the overall decline, some GTA neighbourhoods experienced strong sales in February.
In Pickering (E13) sales rose 28 per cent overall compared to a year ago due to a strong increase in condo townhouse and condo-apartment transactions.
Strong condo-apartment sales also drove transactions in Rexdale (W10) to an overall increase of 18 per cent compared to February 2007.
Richmond Hill North (N05) experienced a 19 per cent sales increase compared to a year ago primarily as a result of strong detached home transactions.
“All economic indicators are in place for an active year in the GTA, and as the weather improves sales are expected to increase as well,” said Ms. O’Neill.
John Pasalis is a sales associate at Prudential Properties Plus in Toronto and a founder of Realosophy. Email John
