We hope you are enjoying your summer. Here we are entering the dog days of summer. If you are like us, it sure seems to be flying by. So if you are thinking of selling this year, this is a great time to consider repairs or renovation projects that have been on your mind. It takes time and planning to get a home ready for sale.
Home presentation becomes increasingly more important during a Buyers Market in real estate. With a greater selection of homes available for buyers to choose from, you really need to make your home stand out against the competition if you want top dollar. To learn more about what you need to do please contact us and we would be pleased to discuss this with you.
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is in a buyers market at the moment and a great time for qualified first-time buyers. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) reported this week that “GTA home sales in July 2024 were up compared to July 2023. While sales were up from last year, buyers continued to benefit from more choice in the GTA marketplace, with annual growth in new listings outstripping that of sales. The better-supplied market meant that buyers also benefitted from a slight relief in selling prices on average.”
Average selling prices across the Board for all home types in July was $1,106,617, down over 4.5% from June of this year. Detached home sale prices were down 3.7% from June and the selling prices of all home types were down from June.
Active Listings continued to climb and reached 23,877 available properties. That is a huge selection of properties to choose from when the market is experiencing under 6,000 sales, on average each month, this year.
In Durham Region, the average selling price of all home types was $915,636, and that was down 4.3% from June. Condo town homes was the only home type that saw a small uptick (0.05%) in selling price during the month.
While we are in a Buyers Market there is considerable competition for freehold homes in the $700,000 to $900,000 price range in Durham Region. This price range accounts for approximately 38% of all sales so far this year and is the prime price point for first-time buyers in the freehold market.
The next most significant sales range is the $900,001 to $1,300,000 price point where this bracket represents approximately 33% of all sales. This is a popular move-up bracket for home owners looking to sell their smaller homes in the $700,000 to $900,000 price range. The industry isn’t building enough freehold homes in the under $900,000 price range so the market needs move up buyers to sell their homes in order for many first time buyers to enter the market.
This is a conundrum that can’t correct itself without more affordable housing and housing that is appropriate for first-time family buyers. Look at the condo apartment mess Toronto has on its hands with a significant over supply of very small condo apartments that are not large enough for a couple let alone a small family. Toronto had 9,421 Active Listings at month end and 6,141 were condo apartment properties, that’s 65% of all Active Listings in the City. Condo apartments are selling however and represented 50% of all Toronto sales in July, but at lower prices than sellers want. Prices will continue to decline on those properties in the near term as many have very high condo fees attached to them. Durham Region needs to be careful to prevent this situation from arising in our communities, particularly with the large number of very small condo apartments being built throughout the Region.