Each week The Glenn Team provide highlights from the weekly CP office meeting to provide a balanced overview of the Toronto and GTA markets and relevant issues affecting real estate markets. Meetings are overseen by Chestnut Park's CEO and Broker of Record, Chris Kapches, LLB, who provides weekly analysis and commentary. Additional input is provided by the CP Toronto office Realtors who give a day to day, real life perspective of the local markets.
BACK AT IT
We took a two week hiatus from the weekly meeting posts as last week both Chris and Richard Stewart (on-staff lawyer) were away and the week previous, there was very little news of relevance beyond to us Realtors and Brokers.
We began this week as usual; with a few stats. If you don't receive our monthly market reports, you can see the latest infographic along with Chris' comments on our blog here.
Additionally, new data for this week is beginning to show the real discrepancy in the year over year statistics. With just over 1,100 properties sold so far this month, Chris expects this number to go to 2,200-2,300 by the end of the month; down 24% from February 2017. Though this reads dramatically, it should be restated that early 2017 saw the highest inventory and sales averages Toronto has ever seen, so it's not an overstatement to say that the market was inflated. That being said, this years numbers represent a more sustainable level of inventory. The primary reason for this decline outside of previous market data is that detached properties aren’t selling nearly as much as semi-detached and condominium apartments. As reported in the Market Update, the number of $2M properties sold is also down, and the average sale price in the 416 is still around $750,000 where last year's was almost $850,000.
No doubt up until May, when prices began to correct, we'll see lots of negative press about this, but the larger story is that the market is still going through a correction to achieving more sustainable numbers and that the 416 area is still experiencing growth, albeit at a slower pace.
CHMC SEES IT DIFFERENTLY
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation doesn't share our modestly positive viewpoint on the Toronto real estate market. It's latest Housing Market Assessment says markets like Toronto, Hamilton, Victoria and Vancouver are still being overvalued and are vulnerable to further price corrections. The report takes into account economic fundamentals such as personal disposable income and population growth, as well as price acceleration as it's indicators for the valuation. House prices in Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Regina appear broadly in line with fundamentals, but strong evidence of overbuilding is still observable.
A NEW LEASE ON LIFE IN TORONTO
It was announced a couple weeks back that as of April 30th, 2018, a new standardized lease agreement for all rentals in Ontario will become mandatory. This new document will not be retroactive but will be required for anyone wishing to lease a residential property on or after April 30th. The new form virtually negates the use of any existing OREA Offer to Lease forms which could otherwise detail conditions that would contribute to the final lease document. Though the details are not 100% clear at this point, we expect that the new form will either be used as a schedule to an offer to lease or function as the primary document to facilitate the lease agreement. More information, as well as a link to the document itself, can be found on the Government of Ontario website.
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