December Toronto, GTA Real Estate Market Update. 2009 Finishing On A High Note
Toronto Real Estate Board, Dec 2009
The Toronto Real Estate Board reported more good news for Home Owners. One of the shining stars in this economy has been the real estate industry with house prices continuing to climb and build equity for consumers. 2009 has also been one of the best years to renew or refinance a mortgage at incredibly low interest rates.
For the month of November the Toronto Real Estate Board reported 7,446 in sales. Average transactions were up 14% compared to the first 11 months of 2008.
The average price year-to-date was up four percent to $394,464. Expect another increase in house prices next quarter. With low interest rates and the threat of the new HST there is an increased incentive for buyers to make the move before June 30th.
Excitement is in the air for real estate. Even the condo market has recently seen a surge with line ups for the highly anticipated X2 by Great Gulf Homes. Agents were waiting inline for 2 days to get a chance at the highly sought after condos.
Based on new stats available, we will likely see an improvement in national house prices, which was already up 20% in October from a year ago.
With 7,446 sales last month, almost double from a year ago, this number had the potential of being even higher if more product was available. Inventory levels remain low, down 49% from a year ago. More Listings Needed. I haven't seen listing inventories so low. A buyer has to be quick to catch a fresh listing without the threat of multiple offers. Its extremely frustrating for buyers searching the net on their own. A realtors data base is updated within minutes of a listing being loaded onto the mls system, whereas it could take days for it to appear on consumer sites. Serious buyers should consider having their agent place them on a daily data feed so ensure the accuracy and currency of information they are reviewing.
With the HST looming ahead, most are predicting a rush to buy in hopes of beating the tax deadline scheduled for July 1st, 2010. According to the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) Ontarians will pay, on average, an additional $1,449 in new taxes on their next residential real estate transaction (more for brand new homes over $400,000). While HST does not apply to the purchase of re-sale homes, services such as moving costs, legal fees, home inspection fees, appraisals, labour on renovations, landscaping, services and commissions will apply.
It will be a race to save the tax. Reminds me of the day when the provincial government introduced the Toronto Land Transfer Tax. There was a flurry of sales taking place to beat the deadline.
Here are a couple of interesting articles regarding the Toronto and Canadian real estate market that may be of interest:
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