« Toronto Commercial Real Estate | Main | Windsor real estate "catalyst" »
Toronto Real Estate Decline Easing
The Toronto Real Estate Board reported 2,565 transactions in the first half of March 2009, a 19% drop from the 3,183 transactions reported during the same period last year. The mid-month March MLS sales increased compared to the 2,044 sales experienced in the first half of February -- and the year-over-year rate of decline decreased.
The average price for MLS sales was $365,499 compared to $385,405 last year — a decline of 5%
“As we move into the spring market, it appears that we are seeing stronger demand for ownership housing in the Greater Toronto Area,” said TREB President Maureen O’Neill. “Buyers are reacting to the market’s strong foundation of affordability.”
“Affordability has improved over the past few months due to a combination of lower home prices, near record lows for mortgage rates and rising earnings,” according to Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.
March 19, 2009 in Toronto Real Estate Update | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c51e453ef01116907c7ed970c
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Toronto Real Estate Decline Easing:
Comments
Buying real estate today reminds me of the time when tulips were hot in Holland.
Posted by: Investor | Mar 23, 2009 10:28:27 PM
heh heh... it's not a price drop... it's an increase in affordability... Gotta love the spin.
Posted by: Bill Braskey | Mar 23, 2009 4:19:46 PM
it's true that March 2008 was a difficult month, and it's certainly also true that 45 days does not a trend make. But it's really quite remarkable how many people are flooding back into the market specifically at the 'starter home' level in Toronto proper.
Don't count this market out!
Posted by: Paul Johnston | Mar 22, 2009 11:14:02 AM
So the ship isn't sinking as fast? That's good news, everyone jump in, now's the perfect time to commit to 25 years worth of debt repayment!
Posted by: Chris L. | Mar 21, 2009 6:47:51 PM
Drop The Rent!!!
At HometownRenter.com we understand that you want to get the highest rent for your property. Our advice to owners is to make sure to stay competative in the market. A property not rented in most cases is another mortgage payment paid. If the property is worth $1,000 a month but everyone in the community is at $1,000 a month, the chances of you renting your place are very slim. If you drop it to $950 you will be able to rent your place fast and not miss another month.
Well qualified applicants are aware they are a hot commodity in this era of tarnished credit and lost jobs. They are shopping their well qualified applications out to the large inventory of investment property on the market. How do you attract them? Drop the rent! Gimmicks do not work–these people have worked hard to keep their credit scores up, their incomes stable and their rental history in tact. Drop the rent…it really is that simple! Prompt placement of a qualified applicant immediately stops the bleeding of lost rents, continued advertisemement expenses and the real possibility of a break in or vandalism. You may not receive top market rent–but you will see regular income that you can count on. Find your best tenants and rental properties for FREE at HometownRenter.com. Your local and national rental site.
Posted by: Gerwin | Mar 20, 2009 7:24:47 PM
Wait until you see May 2009 over May 2008 figures. The prices will be down 15% as a minimum. As inflation start to pick up speed, the interest rates will quickly adjust upwards and this will be the final blow to the real estate market. In fact even relatively low interest rates (5% for example) will kill the overlevaraged real estate market. It will be fun to watch :).
Posted by: John | Mar 20, 2009 1:00:19 PM
No mention of the fact that the previous March had terrible sales (down over 20% yoy). It would be nice if there were an impartial organization to actually give out helpful statistics.
Posted by: Bojangles | Mar 19, 2009 11:08:34 PM
