Toronto
home sales on pace for a record year.
Get out your cheque books, Toronto. Existing home sales in
Toronto are on pace for a record year, led by the red-hot condominium
sector, according to the Toronto
Real Estate Board. The TREB said 6,866 homes changed hands
last month, a 4% jump from a year ago. For the first nine months
of the year, Toronto real estate sales are up 11% from the record-breaking
year the market had in 2005.
The Post's Gary Marr reports:
“I’m encouraged by the September we had. Economists expected
we’d have a strong market but a soft landing. It just doesn’t
look like that is happening,” said Maureen O’Neill, president
of the board. “The figures we are now seeing are just astounding
us.”
It’s still a bit too early to say whether the Toronto market
will set a record. “I don’t have a crystal ball. However all
the indicators, the interest rates, the inflation and the immigration
are all showing so strong I can’t foresee anything but
a strong year.”
Condominium sales continue to drive the market, with that segment
accounting for almost a quarter of all sales. “They are digging
everywhere in this city. The developers don’t seem to be worried
about a glut,” Ms. O’Neill said.
Prices also rebounded sharply last month after dropping in August.
The TREB said the average sale price in city last month was
$380,132, a 5% increase from August. For the year, increases
were a little more modest. The average sale price over the first
nine months of the year was $371,848, a 5% increase from the
same period a year earlier.
“It’s a nice increase considering where the average price already
is. A one-month increase is not a big deal. I’d be more comfortable
if we had three or months in a row of increases,” said Ms. O’Neill,
adding prices usually drop in August because of a lack of buyers
in the marketplace over the summer.
Million-dollar homes made up a very small segment of sales,
with 149 falling into that category. The most popular price
range across the city was $300,000 to $400,000, with 27.6% selling
in that category.
The most expensive district in the city to buy a home was C9,
the area bounded by Yonge
Street, Bayview Avenue, Bloor Street and St. Clair Avenue.
The average sale price in that area, which includes posh Rosedale,
was $2,190,237.
Ms. O’Neill cautioned the Toronto market could still face peril
if the city goes ahead with a plan backed by Mayor David Miller
to impose a land-transfer
tax on homes. “We hope the City of Toronto doesn’t jeopardize
this market by imposing this second tax,” she said.
The province already imposes a land-transfer tax. “The taxes
on a $1.6-million would double. If you were paying $32,000 in
taxes [to transfer ownership], you are now are paying $64,000.
The people buying homes would subsidize everybody else’s tax
burden.”
Ultimately, she added, it could make existing homes worth less
because of the tax implication that occur following a sale.
Article taken from the National Post
http://communities.canada.com/nationalpost/blogs/toronto/archive/2007/10/03/toronto-home-sales-on-pace-for-record-year.aspx
Toronto
Real Estate News
Autumn
market going strong