Annual real estate cycle for Toronto and the GTA in Ontario over the past 20 years

Greeting from Fabulous Mississauga!

The graph below clearly shows the pattern of the annual real estate cycle for Toronto, the GTA in Ontario over the past 20 years.

 

This graph shows the cycle of how average price increases in the late winter and early spring, decreases during the summer months, increases again in the fall (but usually not as high as the highest price in the spring) and then decreases again over the  early winter months. The cycle repeats itself with near certainty, year after year and has done so since at least 1995.  When will this regular price increase stop? Nobody knows for sure, but it's a very interesting trend to see the seasonal fluctuations in home prices. The only period that didn't show this regular increase was late 2008 to early 2009 during the Global Financial Crisis when housing prices fell more than 50% in some markets in the USA and elsewhere.  We only experienced a small downward 'blip' in our prices and then the steady increase began again in the spring of 2009 The graph below shows average single family residential prices of homes for the Toronto Real Estate Board.  Or, maybe you would like to see the average prices of single family residential homes since 1985

Read about this and see the graph online at this page

Read about this and see the graph online at this page

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829  CELL 416-520-1577
mark@mississauga4sale.com

Mississauga4Sale.com

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  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/internet-evaluation.htm
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Graph showing TREB Historical Average Price Data

Greeting from Fabulous Mississauga!

Below is a Graph showing TREB Historical Average Price Data

• The graph below shows a graph of sales price data obtained directly from the Toronto Real Estate Board showing the average selling price of single family homes from 1985 to date in our GTA marketplace.
• Note the historical trends for spring and fall price increases, where spring typically has a larger increase compared to the fall.
• The benchmark for changes in price is chosen to be the average price of homes at the last height of the market, which was $273,698 in 1989

See the graph online and read more about this online at this page

See the graph online and read more about this online at this page

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829  CELL 416-520-1577
mark@mississauga4sale.com

Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months?  Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/internet-evaluation.htm
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• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/popupquestion.htm
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You can save money when comparing the 1 year and 5 year mortgage interest rates

Hello from Fabulous Mississauga!

Interest rates are always on people's minds.

See the graph and read more online at this page

A very interesting relationship is between the 1 year and 5 year mortgage interest rates compared over time. 

People often ask me if they should choose the short term rates or lock in for the long term rates with their mortgage. 

The answer is not simple and often depends upon your personal situation and your risk tolerance, read more about locking in your mortgage for the long or short term. 

The graph below shows you the difference between the 1 year rate and the 5 year rate. The wider the gap, the more opportunity for you to save money by having a short term mortgage.  This may give you some insight into what you may wish to do by comparing the difference between the short and long term rates over the past decade or so and how the difference fluctuates.

See the graph and read more online at this page

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829  CELL 416-520-1577
mark@mississauga4sale.com

Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months?  Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/internet-evaluation.htm
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• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/popupquestion.htm
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Toronto and GTA Home Sales Again at Record Highs for April 2016

Hello from Fabulous Mississauga!

Home sale were at record heights again last month in the GTA

Highlights of the latest report from TREB for the Residential Real Estate Market in the GTA

• The Average price for last month was $739,082 (it was $688,181 the previous month) and this represents aver a 16.2% increase compared to the same month last year- see graph of prices here
•  Sales volumes were 12,085 (it was 10,326 last month) and this an 7.4% increase from the same month last year 
•  The 2015 calendar year total number of sales was 101,299 – a substantial 9.2 per cent increase compared to 2014 as a whole
•  There were 22,575 sales in the first quarter of 2016 and the year-over-year growth rate for sales was 15.8 per cent for Q1 2016.
•  The Bank of Canada Prime Lending Rate now stands at 2.70% steady (since July 2015) 

 See more at this page about average prices and read the TREB full price and data report below.

Read the full report below

See graphs of prices at this page

Record Home Sales in April

TORONTO, May 4, 2016 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced that there were 12,085 sales reported through TREB’s MLS® System in April 2016. This result, which represented a record for the month of April, was up by 7.4 per cent in comparison to April 2015.

For the TREB market area as a whole, annual sales growth was experienced for all major home types except semi-detached houses. In the City of Toronto, sales were down for detached and semi-detached houses as well as townhouses on a year-over-year basis.

This dip in sales in the ‘416’ area code was due to a lack of low-rise listings. Many would-be buyers were not able to find a home that met their needs.

“While April’s sales result represented a new record for sales, that number could have been even higher if we had benefitted from more supply. In the City of Toronto in particular, some households have chosen not to list their home for sale because of the second substantial Land Transfer Tax and associated administration fee.

The lack of available inventory, coupled with record sales, continued to translate into robust annual rates of price growth,” said Mr. McLean.

Home selling prices continued to trend upward in April. The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark was up by 12.6 per cent year-over-year.

The average selling price was up by 16.2 per cent. The higher growth rate reported for the average home price, as compared to the MLS® HPI, points to a greater share of high-end home sales this year compared to last.

“As we move into the busiest time of the year, in terms of sales volume, strong competition between buyers will continue to push home prices higher. A greater supply of listings would certainly be welcome, but we would need to see a number of consecutive months in which listings growth outpaced sales growth before market

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829  CELL 416-520-1577
mark@mississauga4sale.com

Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months?  Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/internet-evaluation.htm
• Power of Sales and Foreclosureshttp://www.mississauga4sale.com/Power-Sales-Bank-Sales-Alert-Request.htm
• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/popupquestion.htm
• See seasonal housing patternshttp://www.mississauga4sale.com/TREBprice.htm

Bank of Canada Leaves interest rate at 0.5%

The Bank of Canada announced on April 13 2016 that they would be leaving the overnight lending rate at 0.5%

This means that consumer lending rates should remain the same.

The bank prime rate that banks charge to the consumer remains at 2.70%

Read more about definition of rates

Below is, in part, what the Bank of Canada Announced on Wednesday April 13 2016:

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1/2 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 3/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/4 per cent.

Growth in the global economy is expected to strengthen gradually from about 3 per cent in 2016 to 3 1/2 per cent in 2017-18, a weaker outlook than the Bank had projected in its January Monetary Policy Report (MPR). After a slow start to 2016, the US economy is expected to regain momentum, but with a lower profile and a composition that is less favourable for Canadian exports. Financial conditions have improved, partly in response to expectations of more accommodative monetary policy in some major economies.

Prices of oil and other commodities are off their earlier lows and slightly above levels assumed by the Bank in January, but remain well below historical averages. Nonetheless, the Bank expects deeper cuts to investment in Canada’s energy sector than were forecast in January. Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar has firmed, reflecting shifting expectations for monetary policy in Canada and the United States, as well as recent increases in commodity prices.

The Canadian economy’s complex structural adjustment to the oil price shock is ongoing and will dampen growth throughout the Bank’s projection horizon. First-quarter GDP growth appears to have been unexpectedly strong, but some of that strength is due to temporary factors and is likely to reverse in the second quarter. Still, it does appear that the positive forces at work in the economy are starting to outweigh those that are negative. Non-resource exports are expected to strengthen, but their profile is weaker than previously projected, in part because of slower foreign demand growth and the higher Canadian dollar. The economy continues to create net new employment, especially in services, despite job losses in resource-intensive regions. In this context, household spending continues to expand moderately. While business investment is still shrinking due to sizeable declines in the energy sector, it is expected to turn positive later this year. The complex adjustment figures importantly in the Bank’s annual review of the economy’s potential, which has resulted in a lower estimated range for potential output growth.

Read full report by the bank here

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829  CELL 416-520-1577
mark@mississauga4sale.com

Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months?  Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/internet-evaluation.htm
• Power of Sales and Foreclosureshttp://www.mississauga4sale.com/Power-Sales-Bank-Sales-Alert-Request.htm
• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/popupquestion.htm
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Residential Real Estate Market in the GTA April 2016 Highlights of the latest report from TREB

Greetings from Fabulous Mississauga!

Highlights of the latest report from TREB for the Residential Real Estate Market in the GTA

• The Average price for last month was $688,181 (it was $685,278 the previous month) and this represents aver a 12.1% increase compared to the same month last year- see graph of prices here
• Sales volumes were 10,326 (it was 7,621 last month) and this an 15.8% increase from the same month last year
• The 2015 calendar year total number of sales was 101,299 – a substantial 9.2 per cent increase compared to 2014 as a whole
• There were 22,575 sales in the first quarter of 2016 and the year-over-year growth rate for sales was 15.8 per cent for Q1 2016.
   
• The Bank of Canada Prime Lending Rate now stands at 2.70% steady (since July 2015) read more

See the full report and Graphs of Latest Prices here

Strong Growth in Home Sales in March/Q1

TORONTO, April 5, 2016 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced record TREB MLS® home sales for the first quarter of 2016 following a strong result for March transactions.

There were 10,326 sales in March and 22,575 sales in the first quarter.

The year-over-year growth rate for sales was 15.8 per cent for Q1 2016 and 16.2 per cent for March 2016. For the TREB market area as a whole, double-digit year-over-year rates of sales growth were experienced for all major home types during the first quarter.

The positive annual growth in sales was not mirrored on the listings front. The number of new listings entered into TREB's MLS® System during March and the first quarter were down compared to the same periods in 2015.

“At the beginning of 2016, TREB’s outlook for the year pointed to a strong possibility of a second consecutive record year for home sales. This outlook was based, in part, on upbeat consumer survey results pointing to robust home buying intentions. It is clear that these upbeat intentions have translated into record first quarter results,” said Mr. McLean.

The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark for March 2016 was up by 11.6 per cent compared to March 2015.

The average selling price for all home types combined was up 12.1 per cent year-over-year in March and 13.6 per cent in the first quarter.

“Demand was clearly not an issue in the first three months of 2016, regardless of the housing market segment being considered. The supply of listings, however, continued to aggravate many would-be home buyers. We could have experienced even stronger sales growth were it not for the constrained supply of listings, especially in the low-rise market segments.

The resulting strong competition between buyers has underpinned the double-digit rates of price growth experienced so far this year," said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.

See the full report and Graphs of Latest Prices here

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829  CELL 416-520-1577
mark@mississauga4sale.com

Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months?  Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/internet-evaluation.htm
• Power of Sales and Foreclosureshttp://www.mississauga4sale.com/Power-Sales-Bank-Sales-Alert-Request.htm
• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/popupquestion.htm
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Bank of Canada Maintains overnight interest rate at 0.5% as of March 9th 2016

Good morning from Fabulous Mississauga!

As most economists expected, the Bank of Canada refrained from cutting interest rates at this week's policy announcement meeting.

On March 9, 2016 the Bank of Canada announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1/2 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 3/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/4 per cent

The key policy overnight rate is only 50 basis points (one-half of one percentage points or 0.5%) and another 25 basis point (bp) cut would only reduce the Bank's ability to take action, if needed, in the future.

The recent economic news has shown a marked improvement, precluding the Bank from following on the previous two rate cuts this year.

Read more here BankofCanada

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829  CELL 416-520-1577
mark@mississauga4sale.com

Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months?  Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/internet-evaluation.htm
• Power of Sales and Foreclosureshttp://www.mississauga4sale.com/Power-Sales-Bank-Sales-Alert-Request.htm
• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/popupquestion.htm
• See seasonal housing patternshttp://www.mississauga4sale.com/TREBprice.htm

Highlights Latest Report from TREB Market Watch for the Residential Real Estate Market in the GTA March 2016

Highlights of the latest report from TREB for the Residential Real Estate Market in the GTA

• The Average price for last month was $685,278 (it was $631,092 the previous month) and this represents aver a 11.1% increase compared to the same month last year
  
  - see graph of prices here
  
• Sales volumes were 7,621 (it was 4,672 last month) and this an 21.1% increase from the same month last year  
• The Bank of Canada Prime Lending Rate now stands at 0.50% since July 2015 read more
  
  read more
  
• See more at this page about average prices and read the TREB full price and data report below.

This is the full price and data report from TREB for last month

Record February Sales

TORONTO, March 3, 2016 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported a record number of home sales through TREB’s MLS® System in February 2016. There were 7,621 transactions reported this past February – up 21.1 per cent compared to February 2015.

The number of new listings entered into TREB’s MLS® System was also up on a year-over-year basis, but by a lesser 8.2 per cent. The fact that the annual rate of sales growth outstripped the annual rate of price growth shows a tightening of market conditions compared to last year.

“Even after accounting for the leap year day, sales were above the previous record for February set back in 2010. Sales were up strongly from the 15th day of the month onward as well, despite the new federal mortgage lending guidelines coming into effect that require at least a 10 per cent down payment on the portion of purchase prices between $500,000 and $1,000,000,” said Mr. McLean.

Seller’s market conditions continued throughout the GTA in February. Strong competition between buyers resulted in a healthy growth in selling prices. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 11.3 per cent year-over year.

The average selling price was up by 14.9 per cent annually to $685,278.

“Recent polling conducted for TREB by Ipsos suggested that GTA households will remain upbeat about purchasing a home in 2016. Early sales results for January and February certainly support this view. 

With strong sales up against a constrained supply of listings, home prices continued to trend strongly upward,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.

All the Best!

Mark

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829  CELL 416-520-1577
mark@mississauga4sale.com

Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months?  Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/internet-evaluation.htm
• Power of Sales and Foreclosureshttp://www.mississauga4sale.com/Power-Sales-Bank-Sales-Alert-Request.htm
• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/popupquestion.htm
• See seasonal housing patternshttp://www.mississauga4sale.com/TREBprice.htm

Bank of Canada leaves key interest rate unchanged at 1/2%

Greetings from Fabulous Mississauga!

The Bank of Canada leaves key interest rate unchanged at 1/2% most anticipated interest rate announcement was on January 20, 2016 and the decision was that the Bank of Canada will be maintaining its overnight rate at 0.5%.  This means there will be no changes to prime rate. 

What does this mean to you, the consumer?  It's likely the major banks in Canada will leave their prime rates that they charge you at 2.70%

The last increase of the prime rate was September 2010 and this the longest stretch of no increase in history. 

Economists have been predicting that the prime rate will remain unchanged until sometime in 2016 and some even longer than that.  There are others who are predicting no change for 5 years or longer.

Many have been predicting the prime rate will increase 'next year' every year for the past 5 years now.

Personally, I believe that the low interest rates that we are currently experiencing are generational.  What I mean is that I predict we will see rates at or near their current levels up to about 5% for the next 15 years.  It's already been 5 years of low interest rates and it will likely remain this way for the next 15, a total of 20 years, a full generation!  That's my prediction.

You can still find discounts on variable rate mortgages as low as prime -0.5% with most banks offering about prime -0.10%. 

You can find 5 year fixed mortgages as low as 2.6% and even slightly lower sometimes.

Read the entire release from the Bank of Canada Here 

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829  CELL 416-520-1577
mark@mississauga4sale.com

Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months?  Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/internet-evaluation.htm
• Power of Sales and Foreclosureshttp://www.mississauga4sale.com/Power-Sales-Bank-Sales-Alert-Request.htm
• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/popupquestion.htm
• See seasonal housing patternshttp://www.mississauga4sale.com/TREBprice.htm

Government of Canada Announcement changes to downpayment rules effective February 15, 2016

Greetings from Fabulous Mississauga!

The Government of Canada Announced a change to the downpayment rules effective February 15, 2016

The minimum down payment will remain 5% for any real estate purchase up to $500,000.  Once you are over $500,000, the downpayment must be 10%, but only on the amount exceeding $500,000. 

For example:  If you are purchasing a home for $800,000, you'll need 5% for the first $500,000 and 10% on the remaining $300,000 making the minimum down payment on this purchase $55,000. 

You will still be able to purchase a home up to $1,000,000 with 5% down until February 15th.  Purchases over $1,000,000 still require 20% down.

Read more about Interest Rates

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829  CELL 416-520-1577
mark@mississauga4sale.com

Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months?  Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/internet-evaluation.htm
• Power of Sales and Foreclosureshttp://www.mississauga4sale.com/Power-Sales-Bank-Sales-Alert-Request.htm
• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/popupquestion.htm
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