In this episode of Market Watch we’re going to talk about the current state of the real estate market and how it can affect you as a buyer or seller. The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) released their market watch report for the month of January, and we’re seeing how the year is going to pan out. January 2017 has started off the year strong, showing a 11.8% increase in sales in comparison to January 2016. The majority of the sales were leaning towards condominium apartments, a 26.8% increase since last year, as opposed to low-rise homes.
With an increased demand for homes, potential home-buyers do not have the luxury of being picky when choosing their next home. However with prices increasing at a ridiculous pace, this is good news for sellers.
As shown in the graph above, last month has shown significant improvement in the percentage of sold listings with 70.7% sales, moving away from previous years. The average selling price in January was a result of a 22.3% climb from January of 2016, ending with an average of $770,745.
For those who are unaware or need a refresher as to what months of inventory are, it refers to the time it would take to sell all current listings with no new listings being added. As seen in the graph above, in comparison to previous January stats, January of 2017 has had the lowest inventory we’ve seen in the past 5 years.
Looking at Mississauga, the average day on market (DOM) was approximately 17 days, with 1.0 months of inventory. For the City of Toronto the DOM was 20 days with 1.3 months of inventory. Both cities seeing reductions in both areas.
With the recurring statistics, it is becoming apparent what the nature of the market is. The main point to emphasize here is that the growth of sales has overtaken the growth of new listings. This is good news to sellers who can be confident in putting and selling your property on the market since such a high demand exists. For buyers, it means you have to act fast!
However, for both parties it is important to choose the right agent; For sellers: choose someone who can help you take advantage of the current situation and receive the full value of your property without leaving money on the table, and for buyers: find someone who knows to strike when the iron’s hot and is able to adapt to the situation and find the right house for you.
Steven Ho is the ideal realtor for any client, and here’s why: In a townhouse complex, Steven sold 30% of the 9 listings available, whilst 6 separate agents sold the remaining 6 listings. The average DOM for the 6 listings was 14 days, whilst for Steven’s listings the average DOM was only 9 days.
In terms of sold prices, the 6 other agents sold for roughly $489,000 while Steven Ho sold for $533,000, a difference of $44,000! A significant margin that is potentially lost with other realtors which could go to the payment of your next home. Here’s another reason to go with Steven: The other agents sold their listings for 102% of the asking price, which is a fair amount to gain no doubt. However Steven outperformed the other agents once again by selling his listings for 106% of the asking price. An additional 4% on a $500,000 home is $20,000!
People think all agents are the same, but different agents yield different results; picking Steven Ho will help you get the best results.
Source: All statistics are taken from the Toronto Real Estate Board 2017.