Neighbourhoods – Ontario’s softening real estate market
Posted by torontorealty on August 17, 2008
With the real estate problems our North American cousins are experiencing down south is appears we are beginning to catch a cold sort of speak. Our real estate concerns in Ontario are more related to stable employment than Sub prime. The average price of a resale home in Canada fell by 3.6 percent. A decline that started in June when prices fell for the 1st time in more than nine years.
Ontario with its sluggish economy thanks to the meteoric rise in the Canadian dollar and a major employer the auto sector being hammered by high fuel costs are major contributors to the concerns about dropping housing values. With the major markets like Toronto only seeing a rise of 1.5 percent in July we could soon see a drop in values.
With listings outpacing sales the market is definitely changing buyers now have a bit more leverage than previously. Sales are down 10.9 percent from the ‘07 robust record setting year and listings are up 18 percent there are now more to choose from and homes are remaining on the market for longer periods. This may now may just be the time to get into the market.
However there are still some hot pockets in toronto with bidding wars although fewer than before. Remember with real estate location location location will determine the price….
Source…… Rob Paterson, Crea
