February Real Estate Sales Strong

Resale housing activity in the month of February was slightly higher than a year ago, Toronto Real Estate Board President Dorothy Mason announced today. A total of 6,772 transactions took place in the month, as compared to 6,756 in February 2006.

"Sales activity has been strong to begin the year," Mrs. Mason said. "Results from the first two months show that so far 2007 is five per cent ahead of last year’s pace."

"The important thing is that we are seeing strong results on a consistent basis, which speaks volumes about the stability of the market," Mrs. Mason added. "As we head into the most active part of the year, it's an excellent time to get into the market for the first time or make a switch to a different home."

In Toronto's west end Bloor West Village neighbourhood TREB reported 13 sales in February, averaging $586,654 (101.1% of asking). Only five of them, however, sold above asking price (106.8% on average) - the remaining eight sold below asking, at 97.5%. The average time on the market was 19 days, and the homes that sold below asking averaged 19 days - only a few days longer.

February 2006 saw 26 sales in Bloor West Village, with the average selling price of $665,132 (101.5% of asking).

In central Toronto's Davisville neighbourhood 19 sales of freehold properties were reported, with an average sale price of $737,885 (103.84% of asking). The average time on the market was only 11 days, and it would even be less without the pre-set date for the offers. Twelve of the sales were above asking price, and the remaining seven still averaged 97.6% of asking and 16 days of market exposure.

In February 2006 14 homes were sold, averaging $618,337 (102.9% of asking), after only 8 days of market exposure.

22 residences were sold in prime Riverdale, averaging $582,121 (107% of asking) and 11 days market exposure. After discounting the only three that sold below asking, the average percent of asking price rises to 109%. It does seem to me that the listing prices might be deliberately low in this neighbourhood, to encourage multiple bids. The highest 'over asking' selling (117%) was my favourite listing on Bain. It wasn't a large house, but it was really trendy and had a great ambiance. The property that took the most time to sell was sold only after 52 days. That property was listed just before Christmas, on December 22, which, I am sure, did not help.

In February 2006 the same number of homes was sold (22), with the average price of $503,050, 102.6% of asking, and 13 days, on average, of market exposure.

In North Toronto only six sales took place, averaging $881,667 (107.7% of asking) and 11 days of market exposure. Only one sold below asking (99%). 10 residences were sold in February 2006, averaging $832,975 (107.6%). Four of these were sold below asking.

Roncesvalles Village real estate sales

Five homes are presently available for sale in Roncesvalles Village, ranging in price from $364,000 to$649,900. The lowest priced is a semi-detached home which has already been available for a total of 685 days over the last couple of years. It needs renovations and has poor street appeal. All of these properties are divided into units, ranging from 2 to 6.

Roncesvalles Village is very popular, and property prices reflect that. Last year average prices and percent of asking price are shown below.

This January average price for freehold homes in Roncesvalles Village was $511,400, with a sale-to-list price ratio of 103.6%. Hopefully with the arrival of spring we will see more homes becoming available in this attractive neighbourhood.

What is happening in real estate sales

Bloor West Village High Park Roncesvalles Village Swansea Kingsway Riverdale Rosedale home sales

Real estate activity is keeping pace with 2006 sales, Toronto Real Estate Board reports, with February's sales close to last year numbers, and the average property price up by 3% from the same time last year.

Looking at some neighbourhoods, the following is what I found. First, the number of new freehold listings:

• In Bloor West Village 23 residences were listed in January and 17 so far in February. In comparison, in the same periods last year, 17 homes were listed in January and 23 in February.
• In High Park 27 homes were listed in January and 14 in February 2007, while in 2006 24 were listed in January and 20 in February.
• In Roncesvalles Village 10 homes were listed in January and only 3 in February. In 2006 9 were listed in January and 6 in February.
• In Swansea 3 properties were listed in January and 17 in February of this year, while last year 10 were listed in January and 6 in February.
• In The Kingsway 12 houses were listed in January and 8 in February, compared to 7 listed in January 2006 and 11 in February 2006.
• In Riverdale 27 homes became available in January and 20 new listings were posted in February, while last year 20 properties were listed in January and 24 in February.
• In Rosedale 5 residences were listed in January and 14 in February, compared to 13 in January and 12 in February of last year.

Out of all these neighbourhoods only two reported more sales this year than in the same period last year. Bloor West Village reported 28 freehold sales this year, while in the same period of 2006 only 26 homes were sold. Riverdale had 29 sales so far in 2007, and only 24 between 1 January and 19 February 2006.

All the other above mentioned neighbourhoods had less sales reported this year, with the biggest difference in Swansea - 7 this year vs. 16 last. Roncesvalles shows 10 in 2007 and 11 in 2006, High Park - 25 this year vs. 26 last, The Kingsway had 8 sales compared to 12 last year, and Rosedale had 8, while in the same time frame last year 11 solds were reported there.

It is too early to properly interpret this information. I will be watching these statistics and reporting them either in this Blog or on one of my real estate websites.

Interesting market

home sales Riverdale High Park Swansea Roncesvalles Village

Home sales have been very strong in January - it was the second best January in the history of Toronto Real Estate Board. Winter finally arrived in Toronto in February, and it is interesting to see how are home sales in different Toronto neighbourhoods.

Prime Riverdale is very busy, with 11 sales reported since the beginning of the month. The average listing-to-sale price ratio was 105.1%, with only three sales below asking, at an average of 95.3%.

In contrast, High Park had 9 sales reported, but the listing-to-sale price ratio was 98.8%, with only one property selling above asking at 106%.

Swansea had only four sales so far this month, two of them above asking at 101% and 119%, and two below, at 98% each. The average was 104%.

Roncesvalles Village reported 5 sales with an average of 103%. This average is due to one only sale at 120% above asking, the other four sold below asking.

Bloor West Village had 8 sales, with an average of 99.1% of asking. Only two homes sold above asking, at an average of 105%.

Lytton Park reported 6 sales at 109% of asking on average, with only two properties selling below asking (at 93.5%).

Bayview Village had only three sales so far this month, all of them below asking at an average of 97.7%.