Up up and away!! Condominium sales are hot hot hot! For now?

Sunday, February 7, 2010
Up up and away!! Condominium sales are hot hot hot! For now?


Anyone interested in real estate - or not - knows that the real estate market surged ahead in the fourth quarter of 2009.
According to the Toronto Sun:

"New fourth quarter (Q4) 2009 condominium sales in the Census Metro Area numbered 6,295, a 36% increase over Q3-2009’s 4,617 new unit sales, completing the rebound from the meagre [sic] 917 new units sold across the CMA in Q1-2009."

Thank gawd! Being in the real-estate industry over last winter was one chilly place. The Toronto Star say, "Considering the industry entered 2009 with apprehension over a busting economy, the results were considered good."

How strong was the increase of the Q4? Check this out, from Urbanation, the 14,792 new condominium sales in 2009, improved on 2008’s total of 14,469 by 2%. BAM!

What about prices? Have you did you invest in real estate a decade ago? I hope so. According the the Sun,

"Toronto CMA pricing has risen 88% over the past decade, from $232 per square foot in Q1-2000 to $435 per square foot in Q4-2009."

Can this hot market sustain itself? Developers and builders sure hope so, and are pushing out their new product as fast as possible to make sure their new projects sell fast. Or, are they trying to push out product as fast as possible to beat the mydrid of new legislations, laws, bylaws, and other measures that will negatively affect builders such as green roof legislation, minimum three-bedroom unit requirements, TTC passes, HST, food-belts...etc...etc..etc.. not to mention the Land Transfer