The residential resale market got off to a good start this year

February 4, 2015 - The residential resale market got off to a good start this year as reflected today in the Market Watch monthly statistical update released by the Toronto Real Estate Board. There were a couple of "softer" spots in the report but, overall - meaning all Toronto & GTA areas and all residence types - the number of units sold was up 6.1% to 4,355, and average selling price was up 4.9% to $552,575 compared to January, 2014 [All figures are quoted on a year-over-year basis - unless otherwise noted - because of the obvious seasonal fluctuations in the real estate market - particularly on the residential side.]

Sales of Detached homes in Metropolitan Toronto fell 2% to 451 units, but Detached sales rose 10% in the balance of the Greater Toronto Area to 1,545 units for an overall rise of 7.1% to 1,996 sales. The average price of those Detached sales was $948,713 in Toronto, up 7%, and $648,233 in the rest of the GTA, up 4.2%. Overall, the average price for the Detached group was $716,127, up 4.2% year-over-year.

Semi-Detached home sales were off 3.8% in the "416", but up 2.8% in the "905" for an overall gain of 0.7% to 418 units sold. The average price of those Semi sales was $667,452 in Toronto, up 7.2%, and $455,653 in the balance of the GTA, up 9.4%. The overall average price for the "Semis" came in at $520,510, up 7.8%.

Townhome [Freehold] sales stumbled 9.9% in Metro Toronto, though this is a relatively thin sector of the market with just 155 units changing hands. In the rest of the GTA, 518 Freehold Townhomes sold, up 4.2%. The average selling prices for those "Towns" was $502,267 in Toronto, up 14.5%, and $421,443 in the rest of the GTA, up 6.2%.

Sales of Condo Apartments were strong across the entire area, rising to 809 units in Toronto [figures do NOT include New Condo sales], up 6.2% at an average price of $382,458, up 4.5%. In the balance of the GTA, there were 392 Condo Apartments "re-sold", up 23.3%, at an average price of $310,045, up 3.6% year-over-year.

The "Seller's Market" continued through January, with Total Active Listings off 2.5% to 11,600 units versus January, 2014's 11,903 units available. Based on the total sales of 4,355 for the month, this indicates a "Forward Inventory" of 2.73 months - though December and January are traditionally two of the slowest months for home sales, so this "indicator" can change radically within the course of several weeks as new inventory comes onto the market and more buyers come into the market with the weather - hopefully - warming!

In 2014, there were 4,103 sales in January and 4,432 in December. The next slowest month was February at 5,695, then November at 6,486. The pattern was almost identical in 2013 with 4,068 in December, 4,229 in January, 5,613 in February, and 6,365 in November. It's also interesting to note the "Rule of Thumb" that about 50% of the entire year's sales occur in the one-third of the year between March 1 to June 30th...if you're thinking of selling, give us a call now.

It's also worth noting that houses "sold 13.9% faster" in January compared to the year-earlier period taking 31 days on the market compared to 36 in January, 2014.

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