Real Estate Information

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.”

Read Complete Market Watch Report here

(1) 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.

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.”

Read the complete Market Watch Report

Home Renovation Tax Credit
The proposed Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) will provide a temporary 15 per cent income tax credit on eligible home renovation expenditures for work performed, or goods acquired, after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2010. The credit may be claimed for the 2009 taxation year on the portion of eligible expenditures exceeding $1,000, but not more than $10,000, and will provide up to $1,350 in tax relief.

For more information on all of the home ownership and housing related stimulus in Budget 2009, go to http://www.budget.gc.ca/2009/plan/bpa5a-eng.asp#Personal or to the Canada Revenue Agency Web site at www.cra-arc.gc.ca and search for “Home Buyers Plan.”

What’s eligible and what’s not for the Home Renovation Tax Credit?
The federal government hopes the Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) will get Canadians spending now to help create jobs in industries typically hurt by an economic downturn. Now through January 31, 2010, homeowners can claim a tax credit for 15 per cent of renovation expenses between $1,000 and $10,000. Here’s a sample of what qualifies under the program and what does not.

Eligible

• renovating a kitchen, bathroom or basement
• new carpet or hardwood floors
• building an addition, deck, fence or retaining wall
• a new furnace or water heater
• painting the interior or exterior of a house
• resurfacing a driveway
• laying new sod

Ineligible

• purchase of furniture and appliances (e.g. refrigerator, stove, and couch)
• purchase of tools
• carpet cleaning
• maintenance contracts (e.g. furnace cleaning, snow removal, lawn care, and pool cleaning)

TORONTO, March 5, 2009 - Toronto Real Estate Board Members reported 4,120 sales in February 2009 compared to 6,015 sales recorded in February 2008. The average home price was $361,305 last month compared to $382,048 during the same month last year.

"A considerable number of transactions continued to take place in February 2009. Motivated Buyers and sellers, who were aware that market conditions changed over the past few months, were able to negotiate transactions acceptable to both parties," said Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O'Neill.

On a month-over-month basis, sales and average price were above January levels of 2,670 and $343,632 respectively. The housing market is seasonal. Traditionally, in the first half of every year, sales and average price climb to their highest levels in late spring before trending lower from July onward.

"While the economic downturn has had an impact, the GTA housing market is resting on a solid foundation. Current home prices and Mortgage rates suggest that GTA homes have become more affordable on average," according to Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis. "A greater number of home Buyers could take advantage of this affordability once their positioning in the economy becomes more certain."

Typically the spring real estate market tends to experience more activity and with the Canadian economy experiencing a period of low Mortgage rates and strong immigration, this trend could continue. According to Statistics Canada, Canada welcomed 247,202 permanent residents in 2008, 70,000 more than in 1998, and well within the government's planned range of 240,000 to 265,000 new permanent residents for 2009.

The TREB President pointed out that Greater Toronto REALTORS® are an integral part of the real estate transaction process. "TREB Members are uniquely positioned to help home Buyers and sellers adapt to changing market conditions," added Ms. O'Neill. "In addition, TREB continues to advocate public policies that do not threaten affordability but support home ownership in the GTA such as lower taxation and less regulation."

Read the Complete Market Watch Report

The Bank of Canada announced this morning that it is cutting Interest rates by 0.50%. This take the target for the overnight rate to just 0.50% This takes the total easing to 4.00% since December 2007.

The bank said in it’s release that the global economic outlook has worsened since January with slower growth than expected in the major economies and the US recession with the weak car and housing growth is a big challenge for Canada. Q4 2008 also showed a sharp decline in Canadian economic activity.

They believe that the aggressive efforts of many countries will only begin to be felt in the 2nd half of 2009 and will build up through 2010, and Canada should be well placed to recover more rapidly than other industralized countries due to the underlying strength of the financial system and economy.

Interestingly they said that since rates are so low they need to look at other measures to stimulate the economy such as, “to provide additional monetary stimulus, if required, through credit and quantitative easing.” if its needed and will outline this in the next rate announcement on April 21st. This has meant effectively printing money in the US & UK so we’ll see how the Bank of Canada interprets quantitative easing.

The great news for Mortgage shoppers is that some of the big banks have already announced they are decreasing their Prime lending rates by 0.5% to 2.50% from 3.00%, effective March 4, 2009. Hopefully this will lead to lower variable mortgage rates as well.

Between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008, Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) Members reported 3,433 rented condominium apartments and townhouses in the Greater Toronto Area.

This represented a 30 per cent increase over the 2,635 transactions recorded during the same time frame in 2007. A good part of this increase likely came from rental listings in newly completed condominium apartment buildings containing investor-owned units.

“The increasing strength of the rental market combined with low Interest rates and reasonable home prices mean that now could be an excellent time to purchase an investment property,” said Maureen O’Neill, President, Toronto Real Estate Board.

“Given the demand for rental units, tenants can cover some of the owner’s operating costs for an investment property, while property owners look forward to a healthy return in owner's equity in the long term.”

Condominium apartment rents on an annual basis rose for one, two, and three bedroom types during the September to December period. Two bedroom units, for example, rose two per cent to $1,895 per month.

“Investor-owned condominium apartments have become an increasingly important component of the GTA rental market,” according to Jason Mercer, Senior Manager Market Analysis. “Very few purpose-built rental apartments have been completed in the GTA over the past few years. Many renters searching for apartments with modern finishings and amenities have been attracted to rental condominium apartments listed by TREB Members on the TorontoMLS system.”

Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 2,670 sales in January compared to 5,075 in the first month of 2008. “Demand for existing homes in the Greater Toronto Area moderated as the housing market followed the broader economic slowdown in Canada,” said Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

The average home price in the Greater Toronto Area was $343,632, compared to $374,449 last January. The median price was $303,000 compared to $319,000 last year. “Current Selling prices are a reflection of more choice in the existing home marketplace,” said Mercer. “At the same time, low Mortgage rates have helped keep ownership housing an affordable option. Given that we are not facing an early-1990s-style affordability crisis, the rebound in the housing market will likely be quick once economic recovery takes hold,” added Mercer. 

 SUMMARY OF TREB JANUARY SALES AND AVERAGE PRICE (2009 Versus 2008)

                                        Sales       Average Price            Sales             Average Price

City of Toronto ("416")        1,106          $364,416                2,128               $404,202

Rest of GTA ("905")            1,564          $328,935                2,947               $352,965

GTA                                  2,670          $343,632                5,075               $374,449

Read the Complete Market Watch Report

According to TREB president Maureen O'Neill, there are opportunities at any point in the housing market cycle.

“Moderated housing prices combined with low Interest rates could present excellent long-term investment and homeownership opportunities in the GTA housing market,” noted TREB President Maureen O’Neill. ”REALTORS® can help potential home Buyers and investors identify value in today’s market.”

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada has chopped its key Interest rate by another half percentage point to its lowest level ever, and warned that the Canadian economy will contract by 1.2 per cent this year.

The central bank's target for the overnight lending rate now stands at 1 per cent – lower than in 1958, when the most-watched policy rate was 1.12 per cent.

“The outlook for the global economy has deteriorated since the bank's December Interest rate announcement, with the intensifying financial crisis spilling over into real economic activity,” the bank said in its gloomiest statement yet.

In separate announcements, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Montreal responded by announcing they have cut their prime lending rates by 50 basis points to 3 per cent. BMO said it is cutting key Mortgage rates by 30 to 50 basis points. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Royal Bank of Canada announced a few minutes later that they, too, have cut their prime rate to 3 per cent from 3.5 per cent.

Toronto Real Estate Board Members reported 2,577 sales in December 2008, compared to the 4,646 recorded during the same month in 2007, and the 4,447 recorded in December 2006, TREB President Maureen O’Neill announced today. “Sales for the whole of 2008 were 74,552, compared to the 93,193 recorded in 2007, and the 83,084 recorded during 2006.”

The average price in December of 2008 came in at $361,415, compared to $394,931 in 2007, and $336,217 in December of 2006. For 2008 as a whole, prices averaged $379,347, compared to the $376,236 recorded in 2007, and the $351,941 average recorded in 2006.

The City of Toronto (416) recorded 1,105 sales in December, compared to 2,302 in December 2007  and 1,827 in December of 2006. For all of 2008, there were 29,878 sales, compared to 39,052 in 2007 and 34,404 in 2006.

The average price in the city was $387,482 compared to the $425,842 recorded in December of 2007 and the $350,139 recorded in December 2006. For all of 2008 the average was $410,271. In 2007 the comparable figure was $412,480, and in 2006 $378,776.

The 905 area saw 1,472 sales in December, from 2,344 in December of 2007 and 2,620 in December of 2006. For all of 2008, there were 44,674 sales in this region, versus 54,141 in 2007 and 48,680 in 2006.

The average price in the 905 was $341,847 in December, compared to $360,307 in 2007 and $326,509 in 2006. For all of 2008, the average was $358,665, as compared to $350,092 in 2007 and $332,976 in 2006.

Breaking down the total, 993 sales were reported in TREB’s 28 West districts and averaged $338,855; 473 sales were reported in the 14 Central districts and averaged $479,095; 491 sales were reported in the 23 North districts and averaged $381,975; and 620 sales were reported in TREB’s 21 East districts and averaged $291,488.

Read the complete Market Watch Report