For this month’s episode of Market Watch we will be talking about how the month of April played out. The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) released their market watch report for last month, and we’re seeing how well the year is going.
Last month the biggest increase we saw was in the new listings category, which was up by 33.6% in the year-by-year comparison as seen on TREB. That’s more than double the amount of new listings from March 2017! If the number of new listings keep growing the market may reach a balance in the next few months, however prices seem to be still growing.. The strongest growth from last month in new listings were seen in all low-rise homes, while the condominium sectors stayed at the same rate.
As shown in the graph above, April showed a steep drop in the percentage of sold listings with 53.8%, almost reaching the sales percentage rate of 2014. As predicted this month the increased average selling price, moving up from $916,567 to $920, 791, a 24.5% increase from April 2016 which is high but not as high as previous months.
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, the average inventory for the GTA area for March 2017 has plateaued since last month showing no change in the turnover of listings.
In Mississauga, the average day on market (DOM) has stayed at 8 days, while in the City of Toronto the DOM sits at 10 days. The former is stocked with 0.9 months of inventory while the latter has an increase of 1.1 months of inventory.
The trend continues as we saw in March are continuing on in April, prices are increasing but so are the number of listings. For those considering to buy, take a moment to understand your own expectations with your real estate agent before going out to look for homes. As of April there’s a lot more listings to pick from, which means you can make a more relaxed decision instead of having to choose a home you may not fully like.
This is why it is so important to choose the right agent; Sellers must choose someone who can provide guidance in the current situation and understands what their expectations from this transaction. Buyers must find someone who can advise them, and knows when to push and when to hold back in this market.
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.