The Month of December was the second highest December on record! The YEAR 2015 was THE HIGHEST in sales and in prices in the history of The Toronto Real Estate Board, beating out our former record breaking year in 2007. Here’s how it broke out:
*December Sales up by 12% compared to last December. Annualized sales are up by over 9% (vs 2014)
*New Listings up by over 8% BUT total listings were down by about 11%
*Average sale prices rose by almost 10% to $609.1K. On an annualized basis they rose by 12% to $622.2K
*Average days on market decreased to 29 days (and that INCLUDES condo sales which always have conditions to waive and take about 10 days or so before they go firm).
And when I drill down to Toronto’s city core here are price comparisons to last December:
Detached home prices rose by 12%
Semis rose by 21%
Town house prices went up by 13%
And CONDOS…though sales rose by 13%, prices only increased by 3%.
So, thoughts for 2016:
We will be saddled with continuation of pent up demand. There is still a lot of “unrequited homeownership” from hungry buyers. Rates MAY rise slightly but enough to dampen the market? Doubtful. Stricter lending rates imposed in 2015 may not appreciably affect our buying public.
The only solution I can see is to ramp up the inventory to approach demand. This may come from the “boomer segment” of our demographic who want to “smartsize” and/or from those who would like to cash out and scale down. These price levels DO have a ceiling and trying to “time the market” is a dangerous game. By the time the prices do start to level off, you’re too late!
So, sell before you have to!
Oh, and call me for some help on making your critical Real Estate/financial/lifestyle decisions.
I’m good at this.
By the way, now that the year is over, here is an interesting infographic to finish off my thoughts for the year.
Torontonians…Are you investing wisely and living BENEATH your means? Well, take a look at this graph showing average home prices by city and matching the kind of income you should have in order to afford these homes. How are you doing? Contact me if you need help with YOUR Real Estate holdings. I’m happy to help!
Click on the link to see the “brutal facts” more clearly!
