According to Larry Cerqua, Toronto Real Estate Board President, Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported a record 9,768 sales through TREB's MLS® System in October 2016. Sales were up by 11.5 per cent compared to October 2015. The largest annual rate of sales growth was in the condominium apartment market segment and detached home sales were up by 10 per cent year-over-year, driven predominantly by transactions in the regions surrounding Toronto.
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 19.7 per cent on a year-over-year basis in October 2016. Similarly, the average selling price for all home types combined was $762,975 – up 21.1 per cent over the same time period. Double-digit increases were experienced for all major home types for the TREB Market Area as a whole.
It has been a busy Fall market - with many of our clients finding their dream home, moving up or downsizing and continuing with the buying/selling of investment properties. With the sky high rents, there are good options to be had for buying homes/condos with part or all as rental suites. It can be a bit of a bonus when the tenant moves out, so the rents can be increased to match the real estate market increases.
In general, as of about the third week of September it was not quite as "hot" as it has been earlier in the year. (Of course, there are always exceptions to that - especially if a lack of inventory in that particular type of property). It is a little too early to tell if that has been a result of the tremendous spike previously, the exceptionally strong summer market (which meant a lot of the Fall business was done), or if all the new mortgage rules are having an impact. The US election uncertainty and now results may also be creating some of the ups and downs. Our team is well versed in the impact of the mortgage changes and have details to share if you know someone (especially first time buyers) looking to get into the market. Give us a shout, we can help!