LuxuryinToronto

06/06/2025

Monday MLS Metrics June 2: Our first MMM of June, looking back on the final week of May. Did a non-holiday week with crappy weather help or hurt May's numbers from a real estate in Toronto perspective? Let's have a look at the data.
As of today there are 4341 free-hold homes listed for sale in the E, C and W districts of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board's MLS system. 822 of those were listed just in the last seven days, bringing us to a consistent week over week increase in available inventory since January. This is the Spring of Opportunity for people looking for options. In the free-hold market, that is NOT translating into lower prices. Prices have been creeping up, as has competition for what is on the market. 47% of all sales last week were at or above list price, a tick up from previous weeks. Here is how the percentage of homes selling in competition broke down by price point: 57% of homes selling between $1-2 million; 40% of homes between $2-3 million; 34% of homes under $1 million; and 20% of homes selling last week over $3 million. Over the last seven days the median list to sale price percentage was 100%, and the median Days on Market was 12. In context, even homes that sit past 7 days are more likely to sell at their list price than below, and if it is below, it is a nominal amount.
In contrast is the way May finished up in the world of condos. Inventory went down a bit, finally, to sit at 8164 units for sale in the C, E and W districts of our MLS. That is a decrease of almost 100 units week over week, even with a healthy 1031 listed in the same time frame. With only 167 sales, and with only 20% of those at or above asking, it's a good indication that Sellers are pulling listings off the market, unsold. Some may find their way into the rental world, while others may be taking a break. The median % of list to sale price sits at 97, with a median Days on Market climbing to 31. Buyers here have lots of inventory to pick through, and a lot more negotiating price space than in the free-hold world. Sellers will have to get creative in terms of pricing, and other Buyer incentives to stand out in a crowd.
With most betting money being on a Bank of Canada rate freeze for most of the summer, and Banks beginning to edge up some of the rates on Fixed Rate mortgages, now is an excellent time to get a rate locked in, and maybe do some shopping!

04/22/2025

Monday MLS Metrics April 21. There is a lot going on all around us that could be seen to have an impact on the real estate market over the last week or so, so let's get into it, and see what has or hasn't resulted. Last week the Bank of Canada decided to leave the overnight Prime rate at 2.75 percent. The rationale was that even with inflation numbers coming in lower than the 3% the BOC likes to set as the bar, the Canadian economy needs to play it safe while we sort out trade issues with the U.S. Last week was also a short work week, with a stat holiday and a holiday weekend bringing us into more seasonal Spring weather. How did the real estate market perform? Let's look at the numbers.

As of Monday there are 3501 free-hold homes listed for sale in the W, E and C districts of TRREB's MLS. That is the first week over week drop in inventory of 2025. Not surprisingly, given the holiday weekend, only 519 new listings hit the market last week, well under the usual 650 plus we had experienced over the previous 4 weeks.

Sales were actually brisk, given the short week, with 180 homes changing hands from last Monday to this morning. Of those, 49% percent sold at or above list price, in line with previous weeks. Where was the most competition? The $1-2 million price category continued it's 4 week domination of all of the categories, with 57% of all sales occurring at or above list price. 50% of buyers duked it out for homes under $1 million last week. Coming in 3rd were buyers spending over $3 million, with 33% of those sales going for above asking price. The only port in the storm last week was the $2-3 million category, and even then 30% of homes sold in competition. With a median 10 days on market, and a list-sale ratio of 99%, we are still seeing a Sellers market for most free-hold homes.

So even with all of the noise pollution swirling around about international issues creating turmoil in the real estate market, we aren't seeing that in Toronto in the free-hold housing sector.

We are seeing the condo market also behaving just like it has been all year, long before our current challenges became 90% of the news cycle. We continue to have an oversupply of units for sale, and tepid demand. In fact, the number of sales has been dropping slightly week after week since March, in contrast to the steady sales of free-hold homes. Last week only 107 condos sold in the C, E and W districts of TRREB MLS, the lowest number of sales of any week in 2025, including other holiday weeks. It's unclear if this stagnation of sales is due to anything other than Buyers feeling like the longer they wait to buy, the lower the sales prices will be. While that may be true in areas with a giant supply of units for sale, it isn't in other neighborhoods, and it's always risky to paint a whole product line with the same paint brush. If buying a condo is in your future, make sure to check with your local expert to see exactly how the condo market is where you are contemplating your purchase.

Now, back to eating chocolate!

03/29/2025

709-2181 Yonge Street is now SOLD.
Statistics:
- 248 Showings
- 5 offers
- 9 days of negotiations
- 1 very happy Seller to be out of the condo marketplace to invest their funds as they please.

08/04/2024

From friends at Keller Mortgage Canada.

08/04/2024

07/30/2024

Rates Are Down!

On July 24 the Bank of Canada lowered it’s posted rate for the second consecutive month. This is a sign of economic stability and manageable inflation. The next announcement is in September but for the time being we’re a half point below where we were when the year started with some amazing listings on the market.
Have questions, I have answers. Give me a call.

Mike
416-648-8262
[email protected]

07/03/2024

Tuesday MLS Metrics July 2nd... I hope everyone had a great long Canada Day weekend. Whether you were down watching fireworks at Ashbridges Bay, enjoying the local parks, out of town or just hunkered down in your own or a friend's backyard, this really is the official kick-off to summer. So what did the world of real estate look like the week of school ending, grads, proms and loading up cars for vacations? Let's follow the numbers.

As of today, there are 3162 free-hold homes for sale in the C, E and W districts of TRREB's MLS. This is the first week this year that inventory has dropped week over week. New listings over the last seven days also dropped to 392. No surprise given the significance of all of the events we just covered over the last week. Sales, though, were only down slightly from the previous week, coming in at 150 homes changing hands. How was the level of competition for those homes? In one word: strong.

If you were offering on homes under $1 million last week, you were competing in 54% of those offers. That number jumped to 63% of all homes selling between $1-2 million. If you were buying homes between $2-3 million or $3 million plus, one in three homes were selling above asking price. Even with all of the prep for a big summer long-weekend, buyers were not playing games.

And so we begin July, waiting on Bank of Canada meetings and vacations to influence what happens with the housing market here in Toronto. Will we see the more traditional slow down of summers past, or will friendlier interest rates spark a steady flow of sales?
We'll let you know as the weeks roll out.

06/17/2024

Monday MLS Metrics June 17th...The middle of June brings University and College convocations, and the home stretch of the school year for the rest of the student bodies throughout Toronto. It is also typically still a busy time in real estate. So what did things look like the week after an interest rate decline? Let's look at the numbers.

As of today there are 3196 free-hold homes for sale in the C, E and W districts of TRREB MLS, up from this time last week. 750 homes were listed in the last 7 days, breaking the one week record for 2024. There were 236 sales over the same period, a 2024 one week transactions record. That's two records in the same week. With all of this record breaking, are we seeing any other trends?

Of all free-hold homes sold in the last 7 days, 54% sold at or above list price. For those of you with an amazing memory, you will note a slight week over week drop in that number from the beginning of May. What we are likely seeing is the effect of having more inventory matched with a shifting pricing strategy for Sellers. It would seem that pricing closer to real market value rather than well under, hoping for well over asking price offers in an offer hold-off situation is becoming a more common practice. This is actually good news for Buyers, and may mean that they can still be in a situation where there are multiple offers, but the homes are selling within their budgets.

The good news for Sellers in this kind of market is that they can worry less about the sale closing, as they don't have the added anxiety of wondering if a Buyer will have the sale price appraise by the lender. In the past, with offers coming in well above list price because the cost of borrowing was so extremely low, a low appraisal could undo a deal mere weeks before closing.

In a nutshell, selling and buying a free-hold home, while different in any specific neighborhood, is getting to be a more balanced experience with prices remaining strong.

Where are the opportunities for people on a very fixed budget, needing lots of choice and more negotiating room? Condos. In the last week, 1234 units have been listed in the C, E and W districts of TRREB MLS, bringing the inventory of unsold units to 7092. Weekly sales lagged behind free-hold sales last week, with only 213 condos changing hands. 75% of those units sold under list price, and mean days on market are still hitting the 3 week mark. This is where opportunity lays. Particularly if you are looking for the ability to purchase a multi-bedroom unit and have room-mates offset your carrying costs, or are looking to get into the rental real-estate market, where strong rents and lower buy-ins make for better return on investment numbers than we have seen for a long time.

There is always opportunity in any market. Whether a forever home, a transitional step or an investment, chatting with your trusted agent partner can unlock a lot of doors. Pun intended.

06/15/2024

... another Sneak Peak from LT.