Feb March 2009 Market Update

There is lots of uncertainty out there

The last few weeks have seen a lot of new buyers coming out to look at open houses, both first time buyers as well as people considering trading up or down from their present home. Many, if not most, are just starting their research into the market and are not ready to act just yet.

The main holdup I am hearing from people is a lack certainty about what is going to happen in the economy. When you are not comfortable about the future it’s very difficult to make such a major commitment such as buying a new home.

The encouraging thing about this activity is that it is showing that there is a lot of demand in the market that is waiting for the right signals to take action. This bodes very well for the state of the real estate market in Toronto as the spring market develops.

Once we start seeing a few positive signs we will definitely be seeing an increase in buyer activity.We are already seeing some signs of recovering at our sales office, as our weekly sales for the last half of February have been running ahead of last year and we have seen five sales in the last two weeks that attracted multiple offers.

The recovery in our area has been centered largely in the Leaside and Davisville neighborhoods as the following numbers show.Unit sales and average price change

– Feb 2009 vs Feb 2008

Leaside - Unit sales were identical to last year.
Average sale price -12%

Davisville – Unit sales +/-0%,
Average price -8%

In the Central District, we continued to see sales and prices well below last year’s levels, but versus last month, January 2009, we saw a strong surge of activity.

Sales in Central Toronto increased by 64% and the average price in February, while -5% vs last year, showed a +7% increase from January to an average of $473,971.

The reality, at this point, is that there are some very well priced houses available. If you are thinking about trading up, this could be an ideal time to take a look at what’s available.

Mortgage rates are fantastic and there are a number of homeowner incentives included in the latest Federal Budget that are discussed later in this newsletter.Every neighborhood and every price range is different.

Call me if you would like a custom report on your own neighborhood.