A condo townhouse with highrise amenities

A condo townhouse unit offers great value and convenience, but many buyers want the indoor pool, fitness, and other features of a high rise. We’ve listed a one-bedroom townhouse unit at “Windermere By The Lake” that has all those features and more!

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Indoor pool and waterfront trails

This townhome at the foot of Windermere Avenue offers more than you’d expect. The gardens are magnificent, the Park Lounge and Lake Club Fitness facility on the main floor of the tower are ahead of their class. There’s a Members’ Lounge with complete kitchen, workout area, virtual golf course, indoor pool, and his and hers locker rooms with saunas. And there’s a private garden just for the use of the townhome residents.

But perhaps the biggest and best amenities lie beyond. A minute away, just outside your front door, is High Park and the miles and miles of waterfront trails on Lake Ontario.

If this is the kind of lifestyle you’re looking for, email us, or call James and Joanne at 416-483-8000.

GTA Market Report – May 17, 2012

Tight market conditions in Toronto

With more condo apartments selling in Toronto than detached homes, you know the market is tight. The mid-May TREB figures indicate that 784 condo resale apartments were sold in the 416 area in the first two weeks of the month, as opposed to 691 detached homes. (In the 905 area, it was the other way round… 1,832 detached homes, versus 326 condo apartments.)

The average selling price for transactions in the first 14 days of May was $517,242 – up by six per cent compared to the same period in 2011.

“A shortage of listings in the low-rise segment of the market has resulted in a lot of competition between buyers and above average annual rates of price growth. Tight market conditions are expected to remain in place for the balance of 2012,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

GTA Market Report – May 3, 2012

Toronto average home sale prices continued to increase in April, though the 8.5% year-over-year increase was marginally lower than the increases in February and March.  The average price for April 2012 transactions was $517,556. This figure includes houses and condos, throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

House prices up, condos follow

Price increases (and competition) were strongest for single-detached houses. Across the GTA, detached home prices were up around 9%. The condo market (resale prices up around 4%) is better supplied with inventory, with new construction continuing to coming on stream.

Undeterred by continuing low rates, buyers press on

“Monthly mortgage payments remain affordable for home buyers in the Greater Toronto Area. While interest rates are generally expected to increase over the next two years, the extent and timing of rate hikes has been thrown into question by slower than expected economic growth in the first quarter of this year. On net, borrowing costs are expected to remain a positive factor influencing home sales through 2012,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

Are you thinking of selling your home in the next year or two? One rule of thumb in real estate is that news of an increase in borrowing rates will motivate buyers to make their purchase sooner. When rates increase, we’re more likely to see prices increase, rather than decrease, over the following 90 days or so.

If you would like to sell your home in this market, email us, or call James and Joanne at 416-483-8000.

 

GTA Market Report – April 5, 2012

March sales up 8%, prices up 10%

Each month, it’s been the same story… Home prices continue to rise across the Toronto market, while agents report a large number of buyers still looking for homes. The GTA’s monthly average sale price in March was $504,117.

In March, average resale home prices rose 10.5% compared to the same period in 2011. The supply of new listings has been steady, but not enough to prevent prices from rising above the historical range of close to 6% per year. “If competition between buyers remains as strong as it is right now, we will almost certainly see an average selling price above $500,000 for 2012 as a whole,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

 If you would like to sell your home in this spring market, email us, or call James and Joanne at 416-483-8000.

How affordable is a Toronto home?

The long term picture

In the chart above, lower is better! The Affordability Index measures how much of an average income is needed to pay for an average Toronto home. Something in the 30s is good… Back in 1989, the index spiked to above 50%. The connection is clear: when people can’t afford to buy homes, homes stop selling.

Since 1996, the Toronto resale home market has been mostly positive and steady (with the one memorable hiccup in 2008). Year-to-year price increases have varied, but the pattern has been consistent. The average price increase over the past 15 years is just under 6% annually. That’s for the entire GTA, and most central neighbourhoods have gone up a bit more over the same time period.

The key takeaway from this chart? For almost 20 years, the Affordability Index has moved in a narrow band… As long as people have jobs, and interest rates don’t stray wildly from inflation, homes tend to stay affordable.

This song’s for you

In front of the steps at Toronto’s Old City Hall, an unsuspecting passer-by is offered a gift of music. “Like a personalized song? It’s free.” The occasion was “Best Busker Ever,” an event nicely organized by Improv in Toronto, the folks who bring you those pillow fights and “no pants” subway riders!

Lots of fun here, and congrats to “creative director” Cole Banning.

GTA Market Report – March 5, 2012

Home prices “leap” in February

Complete figures for February 2012 were released today by TREB. 7,032 Toronto area home sales were reported, up 16 percent compared to February 2011. Without the extra leap-year day, the 2012 total would have been only 10% higher.

Average prices, however, don’t rely on the number of days in the month. The average selling price in the TREB market area was $502,508 in February – up 11 per cent compared to February 2011. Experts are cautiously revising their language to prepare for a stronger selling season than expected. “If tight market conditions continue to result in higher than expected price growth as we move into the spring, expectations for 2012 as a whole will have to be revised upwards,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. Mercer also observed that low mortgage rates are keeping Toronto homes affordable.

Greatest increases outside the city

The effect on sales is not uniform throughout the GTA. There was a pronounced increase in sales of detached homes in the 905 area (up 29% over 2011), while sales of condo apartments downtown increased below the average, by only 7% over last year. In fact, over 83% of the increased volume occurred outside the city, in the 905 area.

We need listings

“Price growth will continue to be very strong until the market becomes better supplied,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver. “it is not surprising that competition between buyers has exerted very strong upward pressure on the average selling price.” If you would like to sell your home in this spring market, email us, or call James and Joanne at 416-483-8000.

GTA Market Report – February 17, 2012

Housing demand surges across GTA

Statistics were just released by TREB for the first two weeks of February. The average sale price was $491,493, up about 9% over the same period last year. 3,206 homes were sold in this period, a figure that’s also up about 9%.

Low mortgage rates were on many buyers’ minds during this period. The 2.99% rates advertised by several banks may not last for long, though most observers expect generally low rates to continue through the year.

More listings expected this spring

On average, sellers in early February received 99 per cent of their asking price and their homes were on the market for an average of 25 days. “Both buyers and sellers are aware of the substantial competition that exists for most listings in the GTA,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. Mercer has been pointing out that an increased supply of listings this year will help to flatten out the competitive pressures that push sale prices up.

If you would like to sell your home in this spring market, email us, or call James or Joanne at 416-483-8000.

GTA Market Update – February 3, 2012

Spring is here for Toronto real estate

The monthly market figures just released by TREB show that 4,567 sales were made in January, 2012. This is 8.8% higher than the number reported last January. Activity was strong across the GTA, in both the 416 and 905 areas.

Interestingly, January’s average selling price of $463,543 was also up almost 9% from a year ago. The low posted mortgage rates have helped to keep homes affordable, while the continuing low supply of homes for sale has kept prices up. “A better supplied market should result in a slower rate of price growth, especially in the second half of 2012,” said Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

If you would like to sell your home in this spring market, email us, or call James or Joanne at 416-483-8000.

Toronto meets Sao Paulo

Falling Androids dance video in Kensington Market

The warm colours and sensuous rhythms will make you forget the bleak Toronto midwinter. This lovely video was shot – in one take – in a downtown Toronto laneway for for the single “Let You Shine,”on the Falling Androids LP.

The magical back alley sculpture was created by Urban Trash Art, a collective led by artists Cleber Padovani and Rodrigo Machado and brought to Toronto last summer by Whippersnapper. You can download the full Falling Androids album here.

GTA Market Update – January 23, 2012

How Toronto home prices might look in 2012

It’s early days yet, in what we real estate agents like to call “the spring market.” Still, a few weeks of January sales can give us a starting point for the year.

The chart above projects what a “typical” year of home sales might look like, based on historical patterns. Seasonal activity usually produces a higher number of sales in the spring and fall months. As it happens, the highest average prices usually occur at the same times, when the greatest number of homes are available.

As we go on through 2012, we’ll update our chart with actual monthly sale prices, and you’ll be able to compare these with the “projected” values.

If you’re interested in what prices are like where you live, we can provide some information that specifically reflects your kind of home, and your neighbourhood. Call us at 416-483-8000, or send us a message here.

Time-Lapse Toronto condo builders

construcTORONTO

This time-lapse video of a new condo under construction in Toronto may remind you of Playmobil toys… but those are real machines and real workers, unfurling plans and putting up rebar! Very nice piece by Toronto film maker Fayeque Rahman: watch it in fullscreen mode. And check out more of his work.