Author: downtowntorontorealestate

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Bosley Real Estate Market Insight – March 29th, 2019

Now that March is almost over and we seem to be easing into some warmer weather, it appears that Toronto’s real estate market has a bit more “spring” in its step. The Globe reported this week that Toronto has 104 construction cranes, the most tower cranes of any North American city. The next closest city was Seattle with 59 cranes. A tally of cranes in major cities provides a snapshot of economic sentiment. Based on this consulting firm’s findings, no North American city is healthier than Toronto. Just simply look up!

The freehold sector has witnessed its biggest increase of the year with listings up a whopping 117% throughout all neighbourhoods in Toronto. We aren’t surprised that would happen now that we are all back from spring break. Again, it’s the price range between $700,000 and $1,500,000 that dominates, although last week there were over 80 properties listed above $1.5M. There is still a bit of catching up to do on the sales side, however. Sold properties were down 14% week-over-week, but that should change next week now that we have more listings. Again, a similar market exists in the resale condominium sector. Listings were up last week by 18% and the biggest jump happened in the central core’s first-time buyer’s price range of condos listed between $400K and $700K. Sales have been trending upwards as well, and we are still reporting close to 52% of condo transactions selling at or above the list price which points to continued strength in the high-rise market.

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Bosley Real Estate Ltd. is a full service boutique brokerage operating in Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Hope and Cambridge Ontario since 1928. We have four centrally located offices and over 250 sales representatives selling and leasing homes and condominiums in all the vibrant communities we work in. Our brand is well recognized internationally thanks to our unique affiliation with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. Our sales teams meet weekly to discuss market conditions, trending topics, and anecdotes that more accurately reflect the true temperature of the real estate market.

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Bosley Real Estate Market Insight – March 22nd, 2019

Is buying a home a dream for first time buyers? In the new budget out this week the centrepiece of Ottawa’s housing plan is to help first time buyers with their new zero-interest loans on the following terms:

• CMHC will offer mortgage loans up to 10% of the purchase price of newly built homes and 5% of the value for existing homes. This incentive is in addition to the buyer’s own down payment. Your household income must be $120,000 or less. The overall value of the mortgage and CMHC loan won’t be allowed to exceed four times the household income. With that cap of $480,000 ($120,000 X 4) the highest-value home that could be purchased under the plan would be about $500,000. (Not much help for buyers in Toronto with average prices for homes and condos exceeding that amount.)

• Your household income must be $120,000 or less. • The deadline to repay the loan wasn’t specified but it was designed to be a long-term measure. The loans will be available starting in September.

• Also, first time buyers will now be permitted to borrow up to $35,000 from their RRSP’s, up from $25,000, the limit set 10 years ago.

This program might be good for small cities across Canada, but from a market perspective it will not be a game changer for the housing market in the GTA. The freehold market continues to tighten with a further drop of 34% in available listings since the previous week because of the spring break. Given fewer listings, we weren’t surprised that the number of sales slipped by 24%. There is no surprise that of those properties sold, 45% sold at or above the asking price. The number of new condo listings saw no change from the previous week, but sales were up slightly by 3% and of those sold, 51% sold at or above the asking price. We are gearing up for what we believe to be an active spring market with plenty of qualified buyers waiting to find their dream home..

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Bosley Real Estate Ltd. is a full service boutique brokerage operating in Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Hope and Cambridge Ontario since 1928. We have four centrally located offices and over 250 sales representatives selling and leasing homes and condominiums in all the vibrant communities we work in. Our brand is well recognized internationally thanks to our unique affiliation with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. Our sales teams meet weekly to discuss market conditions, trending topics, and anecdotes that more accurately reflect the true temperature of the real estate market.

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MARKET UPDATE FOR THE WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 9TH, 2018

It’s that time of year again. Santa Claus is coming to town and if that doesn’t signal the start of winter then this week’s little blast of cold sure did. Despite the temperature drop there is no sign that the real estate market is slipping into hibernation just yet. A shortage of listings has been a problem for most of the year and we know buyers are frustrated but we encourage them all to keep looking. If you are thinking of putting your buying intentions on hold you might not like it when interest rates go up again in the New Year, more than once!

Last week in the city the freehold sector saw a 24% drop in new listings. Sales were lower than the previous week, down 33%. We are still witnessing a bit of everything, with some listings reducing their prices after a few weeks and some still increasing their price when they don’t get a bidding war on offer night. Bidding wars are still happening with 65% of homes selling above their list price.

At this point in the year it’s fair to say that the condominium sector is the favourite child of Toronto’s real estate market. The condo sector had another stellar week with a 26% increase in new listings last week. While sales tapered off slightly by 11% the excitement is still evident with 50% of all sales trading at or above the list price. Nowhere is competition more fierce than in the central core in the $400K to $700K price range.

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Bosley Real Estate Ltd. is a full service boutique brokerage operating in Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Hope and Cambridge Ontario since 1928. We have four centrally located offices and over 250 sales representatives selling and leasing homes and condominiums in all the vibrant communities we work in. Our brand is well recognized internationally thanks to our unique affiliation with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. Our sales teams meet weekly to discuss market conditions, trending topics, and anecdotes that more accurately reflect the true temperature of the real estate market.

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Market Update for the Week Ending August 3, 2018

The dog days of August are upon us, but great news for the Toronto Real Estate market. The average sale price for the City of Toronto in July was $824,336, up 8% compared to July of last year which was $759,441. The positive results over the last two months are very encouraging. Toronto’s housing market seems to be stabilizing from the federal government’s tighter mortgage rules that came into effect in January. The scarcity of listings helps to keep prices firm. Buyers who were cautious are feeling a little more confident the market does not have further to fall. With all this encouraging good news it looks like we could be trending toward positive territory for the second half of 2018!

The freehold market recorded a 29% uptick in new listings last week. Most of the new listing activity was recorded in the central core, with 16 new listings priced above $3M and as high as $39M. Sales however took a tumble last week with 30% less sales then the week before. Clearly, people were thinking more about enjoying a cold beverage by the lake with the long weekend approaching, than buying a house. But having said that 53% of all homes sold, occurred at or above the asking price.

Condo market buyers and sellers expressed a similar sentiment. This seems in line with historical trends as we are now in the summer month of August. New listings were up 36% from a week earlier and the majority of the new listings were in the $400K to $700K price range once again. Though sales were down by 28%, overall sales activity remains brisk with 51% of condos selling at or above the asking price.

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Bosley Real Estate Ltd. is a full service boutique brokerage operating in Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Hope and Cambridge Ontario since 1928. We have four centrally located offices and over 250 sales representatives selling and leasing homes and condominiums in all the vibrant communities we work in. Our brand is well recognized internationally thanks to our unique affiliation with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. Our sales teams meet weekly to discuss market conditions, trending topics, and anecdotes that more accurately reflect the true temperature of the real estate market.

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Holds Steady – Will Raise Rates Only Cautiously

The Bank of Canada held overnight interest rates at 1.0% once again, following the two consecutive rate hikes at the July and September meetings. It was widely expected that the Bank would retake a breather this round despite the much stronger than expected November employment report and the recent uptick in inflation. The central bank sees ongoing slack in the labour market, likely referring to continued weakness in average hours worked. As well, the Bank noted that “despite, the rising employment and participation rates, other indicators point to ongoing–albeit diminishing–slack in the labour market.” The rise in inflation was deemed to be short-lived, mainly reflecting the increase in gasoline prices. Third-quarter GDP growth, in contrast, was in line with the Bank’s expectations at 1.7%. Canadian growth was expected to slow in Q3 while remaining above potential in the second half of this year.
Consumer spending has remained very strong, and business investment and public infrastructure spending are contributing to growth. The Q3 sharp decline in exports is expected to be temporary. “Housing has continued to moderate, as expected.”
The Governing Council reiterated caution as the global economy is subject to considerable uncertainty, notably in geopolitical developments and trade policies. The NAFTA negotiations remain a cause for concern. “While higher interest rates will likely be required over time, Governing Council will continue to be cautious, guided by incoming data in assessing the economy’s sensitivity to interest rates, the evolution of economic capacity, and the dynamics of both wage growth and inflation.”
Bottom Line: The central bank is in no hurry to slow the economy and even though, by their estimate, interest rates are still two full percentage points below what it would consider “neutral.” The policy statement cited buoyant global growth, higher oil prices and eased financial conditions, but uncertainty and caution dominated the theme. In contrast to prior reports, any reference to the Canadian dollar was removed. The dollar had strengthened earlier this year but has slumped since September, falling further today. The bond and stock markets rallied on this news.