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To simply look at the real estate statistics for February 2018, you’d think the sky is falling. But it isn’t.
Today we’re going to look at what’s been happening to prices in 3 ways:
- The 416 vs the rest of the GTA
- By types of properties in the 416
- By districts in Central Toronto
Note: these charts are interactive, so make sure to hover to get actual statistics – there are also multiple tabs in some of the spreadsheets.
Quick Conclusions:
- The real estate story varies by community, with Toronto (the 416) showing the healthiest market and York Region showing the weakest
- In early 2017, prices skyrocketed and then promptly fell with a little (a lot) of government intervention. The crazy high Jan/Feb/March prices were a temporary blip that was quickly corrected. So while the overall percentage decrease year over year isn’t pretty, it doesn’t really tell the whole story. The dip in prices in the 416 was very real…but recovery has been steady.
- We have 2 markets: condos and houses. It’s a perfect time to sell a condo and move into a house.
- The Central Toronto market continues to be strong – bidding wars were seen in around 50% of the condo sales downtown and half of the downtown houses sold at or above the asking price.
Keep in mind: as our sample size gets smaller (eg. looking at one particular district vs. the whole city), a few small or large sales can skew the monthly statistics (so don’t panic if you’re seeing huge swings in your neighbourhood).
Prices: the 416 vs. the GTA
Ask 5 GTA REALTORS how the real estate market is right now, and you’ll likely get 5 different answers. It really depends on what part of the GTA you work in:
- The dip in the 416 was swift and significant…though prices have been steadily recovering.
- Things continue to be particularly slow in York Region: Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Markham. No doubt, some of those communities were hot with foreign buyers, so I expect we are seeing some impact here of the foreign buyer tax.
- Keep in mind: the price statistics only measure what’s happening to properties that are selling – there are plenty of properties in the 905 that are sitting around unsold, so we’ll likely see this story evolve over the next few months.
So should you buy in the ‘burbs?
There’s no doubt that the communities outside of Toronto are more affordable and there are opportunities right now to get a ‘deal’. Check out te blog we wrote: Should you move to the ‘burbs? where we look at all the factors you should consider.
Prices & Volume in the 416: By Type of Property
Prices by District: Central Toronto
Here’s what happened by MLS District (click on the tabs to see Central vs. East vs. West vs. Midtown)
