Just as you might have expected, September was a busy month for Toronto real estate agents. The demand for affordable housing remains strong, but the lack of listings is still a big issue. The Government of Canada started a Let's Talk Housing website, where all Canadians are invited to provide feedback on the housing strategy the government is trying to create. It's very obvious we have a problem with the lack of affordable housing, not just in Toronto and something needs to be done to fix this problem. Find out more about this initiative here.
Going back to Toronto, TREB has reported 9,902 sales through the MLS system in September 2016, which is a 21.5 per cent increase compared to September 2015. All major home types have experienced a strong annual rate of sales growth. However, the detached sales had a slower increase in September and the semi-detached sales dropped compared to last year, which is very likely due to the 36.6 per cent drop in new listings compared to last year.
The strong demand for ownership combined with the lack of listing is the perfect breeding ground for soaring prices, so both the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark and the average selling price for all home types combined were up strongly on a year-over-year basis in September. The average selling price was up by 20.4 per cent, amounting to $755,755.
According to Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis:The Toronto Real Estate Board will be closely monitoring how the recent changes to Federal mortgage lending guidelines and capital gains tax exemption rules impact the housing market in the Greater Toronto Area. While these changes are pointed at the demand for ownership housing, it is important to note that much of the upward pressure on home prices in the GTA has been based on the declining inventory of homes available for sale.
But not all of Toronto's neighbourhoods are experiencing lack of inventory. There still are many affordable pockets in the city and your dream home awaits. Contact the Julie Kinnear Team and we'll do our best to guide you to it.
SK00SK