Housing Stats for September 2016 remind me of how shocked I was a couple of years ago when I would read Vancouver stats! In Toronto, we never had double digit growth in sales OR average sale prices. We were smug back then and proudly assured the world we were NOT in bubble territory…we were safely and consistently growing at a sustainable pace of 6-8% per year.
Times are a-changin’…..compared to September 2015 in the GTA,
*Sales are UP by almost 22%
*Average sale prices are UP by over 20% to $755,755 compared to last year. So if you waited to buy a similar house this fall that you had wanted to buy last year, you’d have to pay, on average, an extra $120K to get that house!!
*New listings were DOWN by 6% and TOTAL LISTINGS WERE DOWN BY 37%. I’m “screaming” because it’s this extreme shortage of housing that’s causing these extreme price increases….AND
*those sales are taking place 27% FASTER than last year ….only 16 days on market.
*Condo sales in the city ROSE BY 24%!! (to $446K) Thankfully, due to some supply, prices only rose by 6.5%
September 2016 Detached houses in the city cost about $1,294,000 and in the city CORE $2.125ML!!!
September 2016 Semi-detached houses in the city run about $888K and in the core, a whopping $1,182,000
When will the market calm down? HOW will this happen? One way is mortgage regulations are about to change on October, and now ALL insured loans will have to have a higher downpayment in order to be approved.
This picture will tell you how it will affect the average first time buyer. I’m a fan of these regulations so that we don’t have defaults, arrears and people in the market who should be saving, or renting. We need to have some oversight so we don’t let our emotions for homeownership outstrip our ability to pay for our homes.
What do you think?
If you (or someone you know), are looking for a Realtor who cares MORE about focusing on you, your concerns, goals and the successful purchase or sale of YOUR unique home, than they care about their volume of transactions and awards, please let me know the best way for me to connect, as I would love to offer my highly personal service. Contrary to that old expression, not only IS this business, but it IS personal! And, please, I encourage you to ask me any questions you may have about this post. I value your input and appreciate the time you took to read it.