PHOTO BY SCOTT WEBB

Despite hot temperatures, June's gains were relatively modest. During a time of year when most start to migrate north, Toronto's market is still pushing price increases on average. 

Nasty year over year comparisons came to an end in June. For the first time in more than a year, we saw positive variances in the number of sales and average sale prices. It was unrealistic to compare the first few months of 2017 to any period. Those months represented the most frenetic period in the history of the Toronto residential resale market, even more, dramatic than Toronto’s last frenetic increase in real estate prices in the late 1980’s. Last year’s collective market psychosis was fueled by historically low-interest rates, demand that exceeded supply, and an unrealistic belief that house prices would never stop rising. When the Ontario Fair Housing Plan measures were introduced in late April, it was the electric shock that woke up the psychotic market. What the government’s measure couldn’t impact was demand. With a large number of people migrating to the greater Toronto area annually and the limited amount of new supply available to buyers, demand will always remain strong. It’s not surprising therefore that the residential resale market produced such strong numbers in June. 

During the month of June 8,082 properties were reported sold. This compares favourably with the 7,893 properties sold last year. It was not surprising that the average sale price also popped in June. In June the average sale price came in at $807,871 a 2 percent increase compared to the $791,929 average sale price last year.  As the chart below indicates, the average sale price for all properties sold in the greater Toronto area has been making a steady recovery since the beginning of this year.

Demand and supply will continue to play significant roles going forward. It is troubling that only 15,922 properties came to market in June. Last year 19,561 properties came to market, a decline of almost 19 percent. Although active listings at the end of June were on par with the number available to consumers last year, most of that inventory represents the residue of the market build-up following the implementation of the Ontario Fair Housing Plan.

What the average sale price belies is the fact that it was achieved notwithstanding that the high-end of the market continues to lag. In June 237 properties were reported sold having a sale price of $2 Million or more. Last year 264 were reported sold over the same period. On a year to date basis, 1,067 properties in this price category have been reported sold, a stunning reversal from the 2,483 that sold last year. June’s results are, however, encouraging, and as continued positive variances are produced through the balance of 2018, the higher-end will begin participating equally with the rest of the residential resale market.

The long-term problem will become affordability. Average sale prices are starting to inch towards the numbers that prompted the Liberal government to implement the 15 percent foreign buyers tax. In the city of Toronto, the average sale price for all properties sold was $870,559, approximately 9 times the average household annual income. The resilience of the Toronto and area market makes it clear that if there is insufficient supply, and growing demand, no amount of government engineering will make housing more affordable. It will take a collective political will at the municipal, provincial and federal levels to address the supply issue. Unfortunately, we have seen no collective initiative in this regard.

Prepared by:
Chris Kapches, LLB, President and CEO, Broker

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.

MARKET UPDATE

As we typically do, we began this week's meeting with an update of the Toronto (read 416 area code) stats. Though the media is reporting on most negative aspects of the market, this last week (Jan 22 - 29th) saw the best sales average for the month of January at about $759,000. That makes the current average sale price for the month around $736,000, up 1.2% since last year. Despite prices having begun to sky rocket in January of last year, we're still seeing increases in the average sale price. Inventory, or lack thereof, seems to be the primary contributor to these price increases; especially in the condominium apartment market. The number of sales in total is down by about 20-25% from January 2017. 

The 905 hasn't faired as well. Though condo sales are also leading the way in both sales and prices, they are still down overall from last year; 8% from April to Jan. 1. Freehold properties are doing even worse dropping 20% since April 2017. 

Despite the new stress test rules, some condo owners may do well to attempt to get into the freehold market now, while demand for condos is high and freehold prices are softened. 

WHAT ARE YOUR QUALIFICATIONS?

Speaking of stress testing, Karlee Kusnierczyk from Hanley Mortgage Group stopped by to discuss the current climate of the mortgage market under the new stress test rules. They did a random sampling of 50 clients looking to renew their mortgage and found that 15% of those clients wouldn't have qualified for the fixed rate they obtained 5 years ago under the new stress test. Karlee stated that if a larger sample size was used, she estimates that number would have gone up to 20%. This falls in line with what many economists predicted the stress test would impact. Karlee felt that this wouldn't take people out of a buying position so much as it would knock their price point down. 

Anyone needing to renew their mortgage is likely best to stick with their current lender, as any new lender will use the new stress test rules for qualification, effectively making shopping around a moot point. 

RENT RELIEF

Though it's not well advertised by the city, landlords should be aware that if they apply for a reduction in property taxes and the reassessment results in a reduction of 2.49% or more, their tenants have the right to seek an adjustment to their monthly rental amount. The City of Toronto website details the calculations for this law. I expect that most new landlords, and likely many seasoned landlords are unaware of this law, so it's important to be aware of. Though the reassessment might only result in a 1-3% reduction in monthly rental income, new landlords may depend on those amounts to keep their investment sound, so it's good to know it's at least on the table for landlords. It's not clear as to how the city knows when the property is being rented but the rule nevertheless applies.

Don't just be a spectator on the sidelines of the real estate market. Contact us today to formulate a game plan! We love helping our clients determine their next best steps to real estate joy. Email us here or contact us at 416-925-9191. 

 

Happy New Year! We are continuing the initiative started last year. 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.

As we move into 2018, we've been a bit slow on the uptake given the seemingly relentless strain of viruses going around. Whether it's the result of extreme cold or too many holiday revelries, we encourage everyone to stay warm and healthy this new year! Now onto the meeting...

REWIND & FAST FORWARD - 2017 into 2018

To begin this recap, we have a recap! Chris thought it best to review some of what affected 2017's market as we go into 2018. Canada was the top performing country in the G7 with an annual growth rate of 3%. Consumer activity drove the majority of growth throughout the year; though is expected to slow in 2018. Economists are estimating anywhere b/w 2-5%, with 2% being the more realistic expectation. Unemployment is now below 6% nationally having created around 79,000 jobs, but Canada is still behind the U.S. (4.1%), Japan (2.8%), Germany (3.6%) and the U.K. (4.2%); there is anticipation those unemployment numbers will continue to drop. The downside there is that lower unemployment will lead to hikes in Interest rates. Canada is currently the most indebted nation in the world, with 170% debt to household income, so some adjustment to prices in the housing market would be helpful to most.

There is another rate hike by the Bank of Canada anticipated and the new stress test has officially been implemented. Given both of those factors, some economists speculate about 10% of the buyers in Toronto to drop out of the market. Chris doesn't share this sentiment given many buyers have had to qualify at the stress test rates prior to January 1st. The new stress test is unlikely to impact housing volume but likely will impact sale prices. If a buyer with 20% down was approved at $800K in 2017, the same buyer today may only be able to get $650K. Buyers may start offering less for less or seller’s may find they need to lower their price point, but anyone purchasing properties over $1.5M are unlikely to be affected given the downpayment required for such properties. What IS likely to be affected is the condo market, as condos remain the most affordable property on the market, regardless of lack of inventory.

Uncertainties that for 2018 include NAFTA talks and the upcoming election in Ontario. Both will play key roles in shaping the economy and subsequently, our housing market. Overall, however Chris felt that there was nothing seriously bad on the horizon for the housing market this year but given it is a year of uncertainty in certain areas and that last year saw what he called “most incredible oscillation in real estate” and a “very, very tumultuous year”, we should expect to see decent sales and more normalized sale price increases.

 

DECEMBER MARKET STATS

December is typically a "boring" month stats-wise as the market tends to die down with people getting into holidays. What we do get however are the stats for the year. This year saw a high total for number of sales reaching coming in just over 92,000 for the GTA, about 2% below 2016's highs of 113,000; the most sales ever seen in TREB's history. The bulk of those sales took place prior to May, after which, the drastic drop in activity and prices took place. Our total for 2017 ranks in the top 4 number of sales over the course of the TREB. For December, the average sale price came in at $735,000 across the GTA ($741,000 in the 416), with 4930 sales total. That's an increase in both the average sale price and sales volume year/year. The average sale price for detached properties in the 416 was $1,250,000 (-2.8% yr/yr). In the 905, the average was $910,000, further echoing the disparity b/w both markets. Semi-detached properties averaged $903,000 (+11.5% yr/yr) and condominiums came in at $532,000 (+14.1% yr/yr) in the 416. Given these numbers, clearly buyers are still unwilling to pay the high prices some sellers still demand for detached properties and are moving to more affordable property types; a trend no doubt to continue into 2018. All properties sold in 27 days or less, which remains a fast market pace. 

The number of high-end properties (over $2M+) for the month came in at 116, including 7 condominium apartments, so some condos are now inching up to that $2M+ range as well. Toronto's East end seems to remain the strongest area for price and time to sale, with all properties being sold for 100% of asking or more. Other areas of the city are not going for 100% of ask so it’s likely sellers will be pricing properties to sell as opposed to expecting a flood of buyers to pay the big prices we saw at the beginning of 2017. Overall, the data for December is very positive. There is a strong likelihood that the media will report huge drops in prices when January’s numbers come out and may paint a negative picture of the market but that’s only due the the over-inflated prices from the early part of 2017.

Here's a handy infographic developed by Chestnut Park's marketing team giving a summary of the December stats. 

PERIODIC PIECE

Changes to the Condominium Act in the late part of 2017 introduced the requirement of condominium boards producing a Periodic Information Certificate. This PIC is much like the summary retained in most Status Certificates without the attachments. It provides general information on the property, who the property management for the building is, the number of units leased in the building, directors of the corporation and addresses to contact them. It also gives details regarding insurance amounts for the building along with deductibles and financial Information to get some stance of the financial stability of the corporation, ie. the amount of expenses, liabilities and any foreseen costs coming up, or what the increase to the reserve fund will be going forward. Lastly, it details any legal action or party to judgements the corporation has. This document should be issued every 6 months to condo owners, so if you live in a condominium currently and have yet to receive one, you should contact your property manager to inquire. This is a helpful document for anyone thinking about selling their unit or simply interested in how their building is doing in a general sense. 

Are you finding these meeting recaps useful? We'd love to hear from you! Feel free to leave a comment below or get in touch directly!