TORONTO, May 19, 2009 - Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,561 transactions in the first half of May – an increase of three per cent compared to May 2008.
"Members reported a rise in buying activity this month," said TREB President Maureen O’Neill. "Many home buyers who were undecided about purchasing a home during the winter months are now proceeding with confidence as a result of the GTA housing market's affordability." The average price for MLS® sales was in line with last year, down by less than one-half of one per cent at $399,811.
"More sales and fewer listings resulted in tighter market conditions which pushed the average selling price back up to last year's level," according to Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. "Look for new listings to increase as home owners react to the positive news surrounding home sales and prices."
May 2009 Mid-Month Statistics Year-Over-Year Regional Breakdown
Sales Average Price Sales Average Price
City of Toronto ("416") 1,864 $439,459 1,734 $437,205
Rest of GTA ("905") 2,697 $372,408 2,688 $377,344
GTA 4,561 $399,811 4,422 $400,817
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board
2009 2008
Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Serving over 28,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board. Greater Toronto Area open house listings are now available on http://www.torontorealestateboard.com/
Monday, May 25, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Greater Toronto REALTORS® Report 8,107 Resales in April
In April 2009, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 8,107 sales – down seven per cent from April 2008. While April sales remained lower than last year, the resale housing market gained momentum on a month-over-month basis. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales in April, at 80,900, was up 26 per cent from March and up twothirds compared to January’s ten-year low.1
"Conditions in the resale housing market have improved markedly this spring," according to TREB President Maureen O’Neill. "Home purchases have increased as households have taken
advantage of low interest rates and slightly lower home prices."
The average price for April transactions was $385,641 – down three per cent from last year. "The rate of average price decline continued to diminish last month. This is due in large part to a
tightening in the resale market," stated Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. "The level of sales relative to new listings increased in April."
SUMMARY OF APRIL SALES AND AVERAGE PRICE
"Conditions in the resale housing market have improved markedly this spring," according to TREB President Maureen O’Neill. "Home purchases have increased as households have taken
advantage of low interest rates and slightly lower home prices."
The average price for April transactions was $385,641 – down three per cent from last year. "The rate of average price decline continued to diminish last month. This is due in large part to a
tightening in the resale market," stated Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. "The level of sales relative to new listings increased in April."
SUMMARY OF APRIL SALES AND AVERAGE PRICE
2009 2008
Sales Average Price Sales Average Price
City of Toronto ("416") 3,222 $421,470 3,467 $446,781
Rest of GTA ("905") 4,885 $362,009 5,295 $370,274
GTA 8,107 $385,641 8,762 $398,687
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board
Sales Average Price Sales Average Price
City of Toronto ("416") 3,222 $421,470 3,467 $446,781
Rest of GTA ("905") 4,885 $362,009 5,295 $370,274
GTA 8,107 $385,641 8,762 $398,687
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board
1Seasonally adjusting TREB MLS® data removes recurring seasonal trends observed each year. For example, MLS® sales are highest in late spring each year and lowest in the winter months. Removing the recurring seasonality, allows for the analysis of a meaningful trend reflecting actual changes in market conditions. By multiplying the monthly seasonally-adjusted figure by 12, creating an annual rate, we can compare how the current month relates to historical annual figures.
For a complete copy of the Market Watch Report visit www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com
Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They adhere to a strict Code of
Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Serving over 28,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board.
Greater Toronto Area open house listings are now available on www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com.
For a complete copy of the Market Watch Report visit www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com
Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They adhere to a strict Code of
Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Serving over 28,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board.
Greater Toronto Area open house listings are now available on www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Bank of Canada Cuts Interest Rates For Last Time In April
The Bank of Canada lowered its benchmark overnight lending rate by one quarter of a percentage point to 0.25 per cent at its setting on April 21st, 2009. The trend-setting Bank rate, which is set 0.25 percentage points above the overnight lending rate, declined to 0.5 per cent.
The Bank acknowledged the global economic recession had intensified since publishing its previous economic forecast in January. “In an environment of continued high uncertainty, the global recession has intensified and become more synchronous since the Bank's January Monetary Policy Report Update, with weaker-than-expected activity in all major economies,” said the Bank when it again lowered interest rates on April 21st.
The Bank has repeatedly lowered its policy interest rate to support economic growth. Since December 2007, the Bank has cut its overnight lending rate by a total of 4.25 per cent. Major Canadian chartered banks lowered their prime lending rate in lockstep with the Bank of Canada’ most recent interest rate cuts.
In its announcement, the Bank indicated that it was done cutting rates now that its benchmark overnight lending rate has been dropped to what it described as “the effective lower bound for that rate.” In a departure from the staus quo, it did not lower the deposit rate, which is the rate of interest paid on deposits held by financial institutions at the Bank of Canada. Leaving the deposit rate unchanged at 1/4 per cent further adds much needed liquidity into the financial system.
“The Bank was unusually explicit in its language about holding its key interest rate at its rock bottom, now that it further downgraded its inflation outlook,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “By saying ‘the target overnight rate can be expected to remain at its current level until the end of the second quarter of 2010 in order to achieve the inflation target,’ the Bank has removed any guesswork for projections as to how long it will be before interest rates can be expected to begin rising.”
The Bank downwardly revised its forecast for economic growth in 2009 and 2010. It also extended its forecast as to how long Canada would remain mired in an economic recession.
It also pushed the goalposts out to the third quarter of 2011 as to when it expects inflation to climb back to the two per cent midpoint of its target range between one and three per cent. The Bank targets the core rate of inflation at two per cent.
“For the second time this year, the Bank revised its economic forecast downward, making it more downbeat than the most bearish of private sector economic forecasts,” said Klump. “The Bank economic growth forecast for 2010 was also cut, but it remains rosier than the current consensus.”
The Bank’s Monetary Policy Report to be published on April 23rd will lay out the framework for additional monetary policy tools it may use to further inject liquidity into the financial system in its ongoing attack against the continuing credit crunch.
When the Bank cut interest rates on April 21st, the advertised five-year conventional mortgage rate stood at 5.45 per cent. This is down 1.54 per cent from one year earlier, and 0.34 per cent below where it stood when the Bank made its previous interest rate announcement on March 3rd.
The ongoing credit crunch has led mortgage lenders to reduce discounts on advertised mortgage interest rates, and in some cases these have been completely eliminated.
“Resale housing activity began stabilizing in the first quarter of 2009, thanks to improving affordability,” said Klump. “Lower prices and an extended stretch of low interest rates will further support sales activity this year and next. In the economic recessions of the early 1980s and 1990s, resale housing activity bottomed out before the overall economy did. As then, homebuyers this year will continue being drawn to market by improving affordability.” (CREA 21/04/2009)
The Bank acknowledged the global economic recession had intensified since publishing its previous economic forecast in January. “In an environment of continued high uncertainty, the global recession has intensified and become more synchronous since the Bank's January Monetary Policy Report Update, with weaker-than-expected activity in all major economies,” said the Bank when it again lowered interest rates on April 21st.
The Bank has repeatedly lowered its policy interest rate to support economic growth. Since December 2007, the Bank has cut its overnight lending rate by a total of 4.25 per cent. Major Canadian chartered banks lowered their prime lending rate in lockstep with the Bank of Canada’ most recent interest rate cuts.
In its announcement, the Bank indicated that it was done cutting rates now that its benchmark overnight lending rate has been dropped to what it described as “the effective lower bound for that rate.” In a departure from the staus quo, it did not lower the deposit rate, which is the rate of interest paid on deposits held by financial institutions at the Bank of Canada. Leaving the deposit rate unchanged at 1/4 per cent further adds much needed liquidity into the financial system.
“The Bank was unusually explicit in its language about holding its key interest rate at its rock bottom, now that it further downgraded its inflation outlook,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “By saying ‘the target overnight rate can be expected to remain at its current level until the end of the second quarter of 2010 in order to achieve the inflation target,’ the Bank has removed any guesswork for projections as to how long it will be before interest rates can be expected to begin rising.”
The Bank downwardly revised its forecast for economic growth in 2009 and 2010. It also extended its forecast as to how long Canada would remain mired in an economic recession.
It also pushed the goalposts out to the third quarter of 2011 as to when it expects inflation to climb back to the two per cent midpoint of its target range between one and three per cent. The Bank targets the core rate of inflation at two per cent.
“For the second time this year, the Bank revised its economic forecast downward, making it more downbeat than the most bearish of private sector economic forecasts,” said Klump. “The Bank economic growth forecast for 2010 was also cut, but it remains rosier than the current consensus.”
The Bank’s Monetary Policy Report to be published on April 23rd will lay out the framework for additional monetary policy tools it may use to further inject liquidity into the financial system in its ongoing attack against the continuing credit crunch.
When the Bank cut interest rates on April 21st, the advertised five-year conventional mortgage rate stood at 5.45 per cent. This is down 1.54 per cent from one year earlier, and 0.34 per cent below where it stood when the Bank made its previous interest rate announcement on March 3rd.
The ongoing credit crunch has led mortgage lenders to reduce discounts on advertised mortgage interest rates, and in some cases these have been completely eliminated.
“Resale housing activity began stabilizing in the first quarter of 2009, thanks to improving affordability,” said Klump. “Lower prices and an extended stretch of low interest rates will further support sales activity this year and next. In the economic recessions of the early 1980s and 1990s, resale housing activity bottomed out before the overall economy did. As then, homebuyers this year will continue being drawn to market by improving affordability.” (CREA 21/04/2009)
Time Is Right For First-Time Homebuyers, Housing Experts Say
By: Kristine Owram, THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO - Low mortgage rates and more affordable homes in many markets are pushing first-time home buyers to enter the market in droves, Canadian real-estate experts say.
Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Brookfield Real Estate Services (TSX:BRE.UN), said that when the Canadian housing market was hot, bidding wars forced many buyers to put in offers without conditions to increase their chances of being accepted.
This, combined with unprecedented increases in home prices in many parts of the country, scared many first-time buyers out of the market, he said.
"When first-time buyers stop entering the market it's like sand in the gears of the housing market," said Soper, speaking Tuesday at a BMO conference on the current and future state of Canada's housing market.
But he said the economic downturn changed all that. As housing prices fell across the country and lenders lowered their mortgage rates to attract borrowers, the market became much more attractive to people looking to buy their first homes.
"The uptick in first-time home buyer purchases across the country is quite astonishing," Soper said. "Affordability in places like Vancouver has improved for the first time in a very long time."
BMO senior economist Sal Guatieri said the average mortgage payment has fallen by one-third or $600 a month from its peak, while average resale home prices have fallen 14 per cent from highs seen in mid-2007.
Guatieri said he expects resale prices to fall "moderately further" this year for a cumulative decline in prices of approximately 20 per cent, but he said the slump in prices is slowing as buyers respond to renewed affordability in the market.
"We look for the housing market to correct further this year but not crash," Guatieri said.
More on the housing market:
Despite downturn, Canadians still focused on home ownership
Is it time to lock in your mortgage?
Property insurance: Do you know what's covered?
Should you refinance your mortgage?
Where $35,000 can buy you a house
First-time buyers take the plunge as house prices drop
Brad Lamb of Toronto-based Brad J. Lamb Realty Inc. said sales in March through the industry's Multiple Listing Service fell by only seven per cent year-over-year, compared to drops of 45 to 55 per cent in previous months.
And the average time it took to sell a home in Toronto dropped from 45 days in February to 39 days in March, he added.
"There's a fair amount of evidence out there that the market has bottomed and is starting to come back," Lamb said, adding that while prices may not fall any further, they probably won't rise in the near-term either.
Donald Lawby, president and chief operating officer of Century 21 Canada, agreed that now is a good time to buy a first home, but said prospective buyers should make sure they understand their local market before they dive in.
Soper said that while "we're well through this correction," the U.S. housing slump is far from over and will continue to affect Canadian home prices.
He added that a shortage of buyers in most parts of the country means that this is a bad time to be a speculator trying to make money off rising home prices.
"I don't see a sharp recovery in home prices over the next 24 months," Soper said. "I think home prices will rise at a snail-like pace."
* Article first appeared on April 14, 2009.
TORONTO - Low mortgage rates and more affordable homes in many markets are pushing first-time home buyers to enter the market in droves, Canadian real-estate experts say.
Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Brookfield Real Estate Services (TSX:BRE.UN), said that when the Canadian housing market was hot, bidding wars forced many buyers to put in offers without conditions to increase their chances of being accepted.
This, combined with unprecedented increases in home prices in many parts of the country, scared many first-time buyers out of the market, he said.
"When first-time buyers stop entering the market it's like sand in the gears of the housing market," said Soper, speaking Tuesday at a BMO conference on the current and future state of Canada's housing market.
But he said the economic downturn changed all that. As housing prices fell across the country and lenders lowered their mortgage rates to attract borrowers, the market became much more attractive to people looking to buy their first homes.
"The uptick in first-time home buyer purchases across the country is quite astonishing," Soper said. "Affordability in places like Vancouver has improved for the first time in a very long time."
BMO senior economist Sal Guatieri said the average mortgage payment has fallen by one-third or $600 a month from its peak, while average resale home prices have fallen 14 per cent from highs seen in mid-2007.
Guatieri said he expects resale prices to fall "moderately further" this year for a cumulative decline in prices of approximately 20 per cent, but he said the slump in prices is slowing as buyers respond to renewed affordability in the market.
"We look for the housing market to correct further this year but not crash," Guatieri said.
More on the housing market:
Despite downturn, Canadians still focused on home ownership
Is it time to lock in your mortgage?
Property insurance: Do you know what's covered?
Should you refinance your mortgage?
Where $35,000 can buy you a house
First-time buyers take the plunge as house prices drop
Brad Lamb of Toronto-based Brad J. Lamb Realty Inc. said sales in March through the industry's Multiple Listing Service fell by only seven per cent year-over-year, compared to drops of 45 to 55 per cent in previous months.
And the average time it took to sell a home in Toronto dropped from 45 days in February to 39 days in March, he added.
"There's a fair amount of evidence out there that the market has bottomed and is starting to come back," Lamb said, adding that while prices may not fall any further, they probably won't rise in the near-term either.
Donald Lawby, president and chief operating officer of Century 21 Canada, agreed that now is a good time to buy a first home, but said prospective buyers should make sure they understand their local market before they dive in.
Soper said that while "we're well through this correction," the U.S. housing slump is far from over and will continue to affect Canadian home prices.
He added that a shortage of buyers in most parts of the country means that this is a bad time to be a speculator trying to make money off rising home prices.
"I don't see a sharp recovery in home prices over the next 24 months," Soper said. "I think home prices will rise at a snail-like pace."
* Article first appeared on April 14, 2009.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
March Resale Housing Results Bring Positive News
TORONTO, April 6, 2009 - In March 2009, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 6,171 sales – down seven per cent from March 2008, representing the smallest year-over-year decline in the last five months. The average price for March transactions was $362,052 – down less than five per cent from the same month last year.
“The Greater Toronto housing market has stood up very well given the challenging economic times the world has experienced in recent months,” commented TREB President Maureen O’Neill.
“In fact, over the past two months, the situation in the housing market has improved.”
The seasonally-adjusted annual rate of sales increased to 65,600 in March – up 36 per cent from the ten-year low reached in January.*
“Sales in March increased at a rate over and above what would be expected from the normal spring-time bump,” said Jason Mercer TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “A greater number of households have taken advantage of increased affordability in the housing marketplace.”
“The Greater Toronto housing market has stood up very well given the challenging economic times the world has experienced in recent months,” commented TREB President Maureen O’Neill.
“In fact, over the past two months, the situation in the housing market has improved.”
The seasonally-adjusted annual rate of sales increased to 65,600 in March – up 36 per cent from the ten-year low reached in January.*
“Sales in March increased at a rate over and above what would be expected from the normal spring-time bump,” said Jason Mercer TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “A greater number of households have taken advantage of increased affordability in the housing marketplace.”
*Seasonally adjusting TREB MLS® data removes recurring seasonal trends observed each year. For example, MLS® sales are highest in late spring each year and lowest in the winter months. Removing the recurring seasonality, allows for the analysis of a meaningful trend reflecting actual changes in market conditions. By multiplying the monthly seasonally-adjusted figure by 12, creating an annual rate, we can compare how the current month relates to historical annual figures.
SUMMARY OF MARCH MLS® SALES AND AVERAGE PRICE 2008 ‐ 2009
March
2009 2008
Sales Average Price Sales Average Price
City of Toronto ("416") 2,398 $387,793 2,527 $404,652
Rest of GTA ("905") 3,773 $345,689 4,104 $370,274
GTA 6,171 $362,050 6,631 $380,338
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board
2009 2008
Sales Average Price Sales Average Price
City of Toronto ("416") 2,398 $387,793 2,527 $404,652
Rest of GTA ("905") 3,773 $345,689 4,104 $370,274
GTA 6,171 $362,050 6,631 $380,338
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board
For a complete copy of the Market Watch Report visit www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com
Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Serving over 28,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board. Greater Toronto Area open house listings are now available on www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com.
Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Serving over 28,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board. Greater Toronto Area open house listings are now available on www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)