You hear it over and over again. Hype about the spring market. How the fall is the “best” time to buy. Well buyers, we’re here to let you in on a secret: the best time to purchase a home is NOW.
We know – the headlines can be confusing. Predictions of a crash, speculation of drastically increasing mortgage rates…it can be confusing for anyone who’s actively following the market, or just pays attention to Toronto news in general.
Good thing we’re the experts, and we’ve done the digging; pulled out the good (and TRUE) stuff, and created this handy blog post for you. So without further ado, read on!
There Are More Properties Available on the Market.
Let us give you a bit of a breakdown. According to the Toronto Real Estate Board’s (TREB) most recent market report, the number of new listings for the month of May was 25,837, with a total of 8,451 in the city of Toronto. This is an increase of 48.3% compared to May of 2016, which showed a total of 17,412 new listings – almost 50% more properties were available on the market!
Properties are Selling Closer to Their List Price.
Although prices continue to increase, it is imminent that the market is starting to cool. The average sale to list price ratio in the City of Toronto has dropped 5% from April, from 111% to 106%. This means that properties are selling closer to their listed price.
Expert Economists Are Predicting a “Correction” in the Market.
The newest tax legislation may actually be working to regulate the market. According to a CTV interview, President John Pasalis at Realosophy stated early reports for June numbers show a downward trend, which indicated a potentially sharper drop in the GTA than the 20.3% dip the market took in its year-over-year numbers this May. Although this is only an early prediction – we’ll have to wait until the beginning of July for the final report – this shows that the market could be correcting itself.
Great news, right?! However, on the other side of things…
Prices Are Still Climbing.
The market took a slight dip in May, with an average home price of $899,728 for the City of Toronto. (We use the word “dip” with the caveat being that they rose by over $100,000 compared to last May.) The average price for a home in Toronto for the month of April was $943,947, and in March it was $899,452 (February $859,186…see where we’re going here?).
The market is steady, but prices are rising at a lower rate than they were at the beginning of 2017. This means that although the market may s…l…o…w down so to speak, prices will continue to rise compared to previous years. It’s best to get in now because even if things slow down, prices will likely continue to rise year over year (remember when you waited until “next year” to buy in 2016, when you could have paid $100,000 less than you will today?).
So what’s the take-away you ask?
At the end of the day, it’s about what you can afford and it’s always important to budget and research before making a massive financial decision like buying a property. However, getting into the market now in any capacity during a cooler period is likely your best strategy. There are more properties to choose from now than there have been all year, and early reports for the rest of June are predicting another decrease in prices.
Are you ready to jump in feet first and make a purchase? Does all this make your head spin? Either way, we’re here to help! Contact christine@christinecowern.com and we’ll assign one of our awesome real estate experts to help you find your perfect home. Happy buying!
