Astonishing Heights ! Real Estate in Toronto Rebounds

I have been pounding the table
since January that all the signs
were clearly pointing to a fast
real estate recovery in Toronto.

At that time, we were starting to
see growth month-over-month
in sales, but the “chicken littles”
in the media and financial
community were still promoting
the doomsday scenario with an
apocalyptic fervor.

My advice had been for buyers to enter the
market as soon as possible.
With some leftover motivated
fall ’08 sellers and crazy interest
rates - it was a great time to buy,
a fleeting setback in a rising,
long-term, bull real estate
marketplace.
My prediction was
for the real estate market to
settle down and start rising
again, represented by a strong
seller’s market by fall ‘09.
I also indicated that Toronto’s
development sites, which
buyers have avoided like the
plague for the past year, were
going to get very busy by the
fall. Well, I was 100% correct
about all of it, except that the
real estate recovery happened a
little faster than I predicted back
in January.
June ’09 MLS sales
were nothing short of
spectacular. Almost 11,000
(10,955) homes were sold. This
represents an all-time high.
Keep in mind that June is
typically the 4th or 5th strongest
month of the year. We are
smack dab in the middle of a
seller’s market. Most properties
sell in a few days, many with
multiple offers. Prices are rising
fast. I expect that for the
balance of 2009, we are going
to see strong numbers.

Currently, the time to sell, or
number of days on the market,
has fallen to an average of 33
days. Chronic inventory
shortage exists in most areas.
What is now going to happen is
a surge in new development
sales. July and August will set
the tone for a busy fall when I
predict that over 1000 units per
month will sell for the next
several months. Buyers still
have a great opportunity to
purchase at rock bottom prices
at most of the city’s new sites.

The inventory of ‘leftover’ suites
is shrinking. Pricing at all of the
city’s developments are going
to start to rise. New
development prices are
currently 10-15% lower than
resale prices. This margin will
close to nothing in 3-4 months
with the strengthening new
development marketplace. I
predict that some new
developments will be launched
in the fall and several will come
to market next spring.
It appears to me that our
economy in mending quite
nicely and by late fall we will be
back to business as usual.

Despite what some doomsdayers
still predict, the U.S. and
the world is in a better place
economically. We are now in a
recovery mode. By 2010, the
negative prognosticators will be
safely trotted back to their dark
little holes where they spend the
majority of their lives, having
enjoyed their fleeting 9 months
in the sun.

“June ’09 MLS sales were
nothing short of spectacular...
Most properties sell in a few days,
many with multiple offers.
Prices are rising fast.“

JUNE MLS SALES HIT
ANSTONISHING HEIGHTS!
ECONOMY ON THE REBOUND