Ignoring Splinters, Toronto 2008 Real Estate Market Sits On The Fence
April 11th, 2008 Categories: Market Reports, News Wire
The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) has just reported the March 2008 numbers. Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy read. Yeah, I just can’t help myself; that’s a play on my favourite line from one of my favourite movies.
Toronto Real Estate Sales
Continue Slide
The first quarter of 2008 has not been kind to the Toronto real estate market; in fact it’s one of the worst in recent memory with sales falling for three consecutive months.
For March 2008, 6,631 resale transactions were recorded in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), down 22% from the 8,518 sales of March 2007. In the City of Toronto (defined as the 416 area code) sales declined 27% to 2,527 resale transactions. That’s quite a dive, but given our wild winter, still a not-too-shabby number.
Toronto Real Estate Market
Shelves Are Bare
Much like Loblaws, the Toronto real estate market shelves are a little bare. Inventory levels are low with 20,533 listings, down 6% from a year ago. Why so low? One reason could be the extreme winter weather that kept both buyers and sellers on the fence the first quarter of the year. Another reason could be the Toronto municipal land transfer tax, but I’m not backing that one just yet.
Toronto Real Estate Market
Statistics A Blip?
Are the numbers a true reflection of the state of the market, or a “skinny mirror” distortion? How soon can a trend be substantiated? I would suggest that it takes more than one month or even one quarter.
One thing that is certain is that time will tell. Just don’t forget to buckle up!
I agree with the fact that Toronto real estate market showed a decline in first quarter of 2008. It may be influenced by situation on US real estate market. It caused negative mood between investors on Toronto real estate market. The other reason of house selling decline is that prices of homes reached the top. I think that prices of houses will decrease in near future.