November 2023

Hello and thank you for visiting my site.

Not many properties changed hands during the month with less than 100  property sales and 50 lease transactions.  Yet consumers are still moving and there are currently 400 homes and condo's available for sale.  And most people looking have some choice with many neighbourhoods and streets experiencing a buyers market. ie. having more than one option.

Forty-five of the November sales were for detached 2 storey homes which had an average sale price of $1,988,267.  Year over year that is down less than 1%.

Bungalows average sale price was $1,325,818 almost 14% below November 2022.

Condo apartment sales averaged more than double the figure of a year ago with an average sale price of $1,532,000.  Four of the 19 apartment sales achieved over $2,000,000 and two of those sold above $4.5 million. Henceforth the big year over year jump.

As I write this article it is interesting to note that the stock market has rebounded over the last few days. I expect this roller coaster ride will continue into 2024.  As long as consumer equity at the end of the day is on a positive upward trend, then that will be good for real estate.

It looks like interest rates will hold their current levels into the first half of 2024.  This should give some confidence to some perspective buyers in the new year to continue on with their housing plans and go ahead and make a move that they would like to make.  First time buyers will likely hold off until interest rates start to fall which may not occur until the end of next year and into 2025.  Move up and move down buyers and sellers can continue on with their plans at the start of 2024.

I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.  Feel free to contact me at 905-330-9197.

October 2023

At the moment we have 462 properties for sale (all types) compared to 348 a year ago.  Buyers now have more choice and in most cases more time to make a decision on average.  While many markets are balanced, most sellers are having to be more patient and realistic when setting their asking prices.  Some sellers have attempted setting a below market list price to induce multiple bids without success while others sold their homes as expected.  

It's nice that interest rates have flat-lined for awhile but don't look for any relief/reductions until the second half of 2024.  And in the interim expect a bumpy ride.

Prices have performed as follows;

                                                Oct 2023               Oct 2022                        % Change

Detached 2-storey                  $2169150              $1866655                            +16

Detached bungalows              $1718272              $305000*                            - 77

Semi-detached                           n/a                      $1050000

Link                                           n/a                          n/a

Freehold THs                           $1287875               $1186176                          +8.50

Condo THs                               $793750                 $1053000                          -32

Condo apts                                $813444                $899652                            -10

* only 1 bungalow sold in October 2022 and down slightly from September 2023 $1757000 average.

A year ago October saw 63 properties lease, Sept 2023 had 46 and this October 2023 79.

September 2023

 Hello again,

Just like September 2022 we saw a number of properties that had not been selling during the summer, sell this month.  And a few ultra high-end sales were included in those sales. 

Year over year the numbers went like this;

                                                     2022                         2023                           Approx % change

Detached 2-storeys                      $2164500                 $2089020                         -5%

Detached bungalows                   $1666105                 $1757250                         +5%

Condo apartments                       $991810                   $810500                            -22%

Condo THs                                  $928125                   $1035555                          +11%

Freehold THs                              $1318461                 $1153974                           -14%

Semi-detached                            $1151375                  $1158250                           +1%

Link homes were not active this month.

The average time it took to sell a home was 22 days a couple of days faster that a year ago. So pretty good all things considered.

46 properties were leased during the month down from 58 a year ago and ranging in price from $2175 to $6700, the latter was for an executive home w/pool in Glen Abbey.  Eighteen of those leases were for condo apartments which had an average monthly rental rate of $2768.  Keep in mind that condo fees are usually buried in that number.

The market may cool off a little faster this year given the recent poor performance of the stock markets and the potential of another interest rate bump.  That said there are always people with life changing circumstances that can lead to a change in residence at any time of the year.

August 2023

This summer has certainly flown by, it's hard to believe it is September already.

The real estate market cooled down somewhat during August with the average sale price of a detached 2-storey home dropping 6% from last month to an average sale price of $2,037,500.  Year over year we are down 16%. 

Sales volumes for both "for sale" and "for lease" properties were also lighter than a year ago.  Eighteen for sale properties closed this August compared to 109 a year ago.  The rental market activity although down was similar to a year ago with 60 leases during the month compared to 70 in August 2022.

And it took about a week longer to sell on average with the average days on market coming in at 35 days.

If you were to go back 5, 10 or, even 20 years ago you most likely could not have anticipated such a run up in prices.  So smile and be thankful!

July 2023

This July has proven to be better than most for sellers. Typically properties that hit the market during the prime summer months (July & August) take several weeks to sell.  Not this summer,  if you listed earlier in July you were sold a week or so later.  And properties have been selling quickly and for good value.  The average price of a detached 2-storey home rose 5% from a year ago to $2,315,000.  We are closing in on the record highs of Spring 2022.

Other categories did well as well and the average time it took to sell was a relatively quick 22 days.

Detached bungalows averaged $1,974,500

Semi-detached $1,532,250

Condo THs      $1,260,333

Freehold THs   $1,172,619

Condo apartments  $843,000

and the rental market saw 81 properties leased similar to the 88 a year ago.

So the excitement in the market hasn't waned even with the recent interest rate increase. 

It appears there will be no down time in the market this summer.

June 2023

Ah summer is finally here and so far sales activity has been decent with 77 of the 184 sales in June selling in a week or less.  The average time it took to sell was 17 days the same as last month and still pretty brisk.  Sales volumes were similar to last year when 176 properties changed hands.

The average price of a detached 2-storey homes was $2,218,575 up 2.5% from a year ago and 2% from last month.  Bungalows sold for $1,669,000 down 1.5% while Freehold and condominium THs sold for $1,163,000 and $1,243,519, up 34% and 8%, respectively.  Semi-detached homes sold for $$1,310,200 up 21%.  Condo apartments sold for $794,455 down almost 10% from $872,360.  Two June 2022 sales over $2,000,000 attributed to this change.

Most sellers coming to market are not trying to create an auction but rather are trying to price their homes at the market while allowing 24 or 48 hours for the seller to reply to any offers.  This strategy can result in multiple bids. The last thing you want to do is have to raise the asking price after a failed auction attempt at a lower price.

The lease market is quite robust with prices up year over year.  The number of sales were halved with 51 properties renting.  Last year 104 rented.  Investors are certainly pleased with the increase returns they are making.

Interest rates will likely increase another 25 basis points later this month and that along with the normally slow summer time period should soften activity. 

May 2023

The tight market continues benefiting sellers more so than buyers and most properties are selling in just over 2 weeks on average or, 17 days.  226 properties were sold and 293 are currently available.

Detached 2-storey homes sold for just under $2.2mm ($2178198) that's up from just under $2mm a year ago or, almost 10%. When compared to April 2022 when the average selling price was $2419700 we are down 11% and also down 7% from this April 2023's $2322553 average.

Bungalows averaged $1696286 up slightly from may 2022's $1658333

The ultra luxury segment saw 13 homes sell at or above $3mm so that price point activity continues.

Rentals transactions were not as active as a year ago with 51 leases versus 73 however, more than half of those leased in a week or less, and went for full asking price.  Not as many multiple bids as we have recently seen this year.

The low unemployment rate high immigration numbers and limited resale listings as well as limited new home construction are all keeping the market expensive for buyers and good for sellers.

Expect activity to wain further over the summer months as it normally does and if we see another interest rate increase in the next month or so that should make the summer market quite soft.