April 2017 brought more than just the usual April Showers!! It also ushered in a 16 point provincial government “To Do” list that is “intended” to cool the very frothy Toronto Housing Market. But will it? I sincerely doubt it. And please don’t think this month’s decrease in sales was caused by the new legislation. The announcement was made on April 20 and the 3rd week of sales had ALREADY DECREASED. The ONLY reason sales did not slump more was because CONDO SALES propped up the total results. In addition, NEW LISTINGS were up by 34% compared to last year. For the FIRST TIME IN MONTHS, new listings OUTPACED SALES…if that keeps up, we could inch our way to a more balanced market WITHOUT government intervention.
So here is your Executive Summary on the actual numbers for April 2017:
*Sales were DOWN BY 3%! One reason that April 2017 sales did not slump more compared to April 2016, is that sales were actually being propped up by condo sales which had an 8% increase. Sales in ALL other categories of housing declined both in 416 AND 905. In addition, Easter AND Passover fell in April this year, as opposed to Easter being celebrated last year in March, which cut down the number of working days for sales to be transacted during these holidays.
*New Listings were UP by 34% so buyers had more options….and for the first time in months, total inventory was not in negative territory.
*Total inventory was only 3% higher than last April, but at least it offered more stock for buyers to snatch up!
*Average Days on market in April 2017 plummeted to NINE DAYS…that is 40% FASTER than sales occurred last year at this time.
*Average sale prices increased by 25% to $921K….DOWN from the 33% we were seeing in March 2017 report….also because condo sales (which have a lower average sale price) formed a large part of the sales mix.
*Condo sales in Toronto increased by 8% compared to last year’s April sales and the average sales prices were up by a whopping 32% to $579K. I remember how shocked we were late last year when the average sale price went above the $400K high water mark!!
How long will prices continue to rise you ask? Well, once the average sale price for a home reaches the $1Million mark, there will be no access to CMHC insured loans and that means that conventional mortgages will be the order of the day. That means everyone will be held to coming up with a 20% downpayment, and if the banks raise interest rates, even just a tad, trust me when I tell you, THAT WILL SLOW DOWN THE MARKET…naturally AND organically.
All that said, it MAY be time for you to sell and “smart size” either UP OR DOWN, depending on your real estate goals. Let’s connect to discuss the best options for you in this rather “tricky” market of ours.
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. 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.