November 2018 sales took a NOSE DIVE compared to same time last year. BAD NEWS?
IT DEPENDS:
1 On whether you’re buying or selling.
2 What the context of the numbers are….what do they mean for you?
3 What this means for the Toronto housing market going forward.
Here’s the executive summary:
*NOVEMBER 2018 SALES SLID by almost 15%
*New Listings shrank by 26% and Total listings receded by 10%
*Average sale prices increased by a modest 3.5% to a little over $788K
*Average time it took to sell these listings? 27 days, vs. 24 days last year.
So
1 If you’re selling in the city, where there are only 2 months of inventory, it is still the Seller who is “leading the orchestra”. ESPECIALY IN THE EAST END! In Riverdale there is LESS THAN ONE MONTH of inventory. On average, listings are selling at 109% of the ask in TEN DAYS. Unheard of, really.
If you’re selling in YORK REGION, however, there are FIVE MONTHS of supply. Here, it’s the BUYER who holds the “baton”.
2 The numbers are not really all that shocking. We were up against a very strong November in 2017 and our supply is so pathetically low this year. The fact that average sale prices are still UP, means there is plenty of competition out there amongst the buying public.
3 The Toronto market is not scheduled to follow the steep drop in activity that the Vancouver market is suffering from at this juncture. We never had the price heights they had. We don’t have the same amount of foreign purchasing by any stretch. We don’t have as much legislation “punishing” buyers. Our economy is better.
The Ford government has also stepped back from the liberal governments policy on Rent control. This will stimulate more investment and more building of purpose built supply for Toronto. That too will help the situation.
All in all, for November 2018, we are “on track”. Affordability is “digestible” and hopefully, listings will open up again after the holidays and into January 2019.
Here Endeth the lesson!
If you (or someone you know), are looking for a Realtor who cares MORE about focusing on 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.