The Toronto real estate market this year has been a bit unpredictable. Months which are typically down time, January, February and March were uncharacteristically record setting. As we move closer into the hot summer months, will the Toronto Real Estate market still be sizzling?
In addition to the first quarter of the year, the beginning of May, historically a strong month was up from last year. On the other hand, as we move closer to June we are seeing signs of a cooling market. In the second half of May sales dipped by 1% from last May leaving us with 9,470 transactions. Average prices on the other hand were up 13%.
Like Toronto’s recent weather, this leaves us scratching our heads wondering where the Toronto Real Estate market is headed. At the beginning of the year, an anticipated increase in mortgage rates and the introduction of the new HST were looming over everyone’s shoulders. Buyers felt pressure to get into the market before these factors came into play. As it turned out, mortgage rates unexpected lowered following the financial crisis in Greece and the Toronto real estate market remained hot for a little while longer.
Only in the last couple of weeks have we seen a slow down in the market. HST will soon be a reality and with the introduction of any new policy, people are unsure and fear the consequences. For buyers this is great news! Inventory levels are rising, allowing average selling prices to grow at a steadier pace than before. Buyers have more time to react to properties for sale and have more choice. It will be interesting to see if the introduction of the new HST will have a huge impact on the Toronto real estate market. I guess only time will tell…
