October 2018

By November 23, 2018

After a serious downturn in the first half of 2018, the market has shown positive annual sales growth since late spring. In Q3 the aggregate price of a GTA home rose 1.3%. October saw prices up by 3.5% and a rise in sales volume of 6% year-over-year. A little closer to home, Central Toronto* saw prices up 5% in the Detached and Condo market, and a whopping 10% increase in Semi-Detached prices.

What else happened in October? As expected, The Bank of Canada (BoC) hiked the overnight rate to 1.75%. It’s time to brace for slowing price gains in the coming months, especially since many mortgages are rolling over at higher rates for the first time in 25 years. Not to mention that the holidays typically cause a slow down – turns out people would rather spend time with their family than list their home, who would have guessed!

Taking a look at the longer term, we expect the BoC to hike interest rates again. If this increase materializes, our housing market could see the same kind of reversal that hit U.S. stocks when the Fed raised rates.

Capital Economics’ chief North American economist, Paul Ashworth, is currently predicting GDP growth of 1.7 percent in 2018 and only 1.3 percent in 2019, as the housing downturn continues to weigh on consumption and residential investment.

In short, things are slowing down (relatively speaking). But, life happens and sometimes you need another bedroom, or a home office, or a location that shortens your commute to work. Real estate transactions will occur regardless of what the market is doing, you just need a professional to help maximize your purchase power or property value. When you’re ready, I’m here for you. Reach out at: 416.566.7730 or susanbandler@chestnutpark.com

P.S. If you’re considering selling, now might be a better time than you think thanks to decreased supply of available properties. .

Toronto Real Estate Market - October 2018

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