TREB Average Sales month and year to date

The chart at the right will show you the monthly and year to date sales volumes for the different areas of the Toronto Real Estate Board.

It's interesting to see West zones make up more than one third of all sales through the Toronto board. The West, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Oakville Brampton etc. are by far the hottest areas of the city with the highest number of sales.

Mississauga Real Estate Market in April Continues to Improve

The Mississauga Real Estate Market Continues to Improve in the month of April. Sales volumes are up and prices are steady.

We are now experiencing a good real estate market where properly priced properties are taking about 2 to 3 weeks to sell. This is a more 'normal' time period and gives buyers and sellers time to digest market conditions without acting with too much pressure.

See my MLS listings on Google Maps here

Looks like March was another good month for sales, read more

Now that the March sales numbers are in the record books, you can read more about sales volumes and prices from last month in this article

Prices seem to have stabilized for month over month. This is somewhat unusual compared to the last 10 years of spring markets. It is difficult to predict where the prices will go over the next month or two, but if patterns over the past years are any indication, prices will likely improve over the next few months.

I hope this finds you and yours happy and healthy!

Mark

For more information please contact A. Mark Argentino

A. Mark Argentino Associate Broker, P.Eng.,
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
2691 Credit Valley Road, Suite 101, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 7A1

BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829
E-MAIL mark@mississauga4sale.com
Website: Mississauga4Sale.com

Prices Steady - Volume up Compared to last year

TORONTO - Wednesday, April 5, 2006--TREB Members reported 8,707 sales of existing homes in March, a 10 per cent increase over the 2005 total of 7,904, Toronto Real Estate Board President John Meehan announced today. "The March performance is the second best ever recorded for the month," Mr. Meehan said. "Furthermore, year-to-date we have seen 19,831 sales, which is the best first quarter result since statistics have been kept."

Prices steadied last month, with the average registering at $353,134, almost the same as in February and up seven per cent from the $330,545 recorded in March of 2005. Inventory climbed four per cent over last March to 22,765, and average time-on-market fell to 30 days.

Breaking down the total Numbers into TREB Areas for this month

3,281 sales were reported in TREB’s 28 West districts and averaged $334,274
1,558 sales were reported in the 14 Central districts and averaged $458,623
1,710 sales were reported in the 23 North districts and averaged $381,774
2,158; sales were reported in TREB’s 21 East districts and averaged $282,954

Public Open houses on my listings this Saturday and Sunday April 8th and 9th

Please visit either of these links see them all here or quick list here to see my listings that are on the list of Public Open Houses this weekend
Thank you,
Mark

Toronto CMA Housing Starts Sag in February

Toronto CMA Housing Starts, SAAR
Total housing starts in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) declined in February.  Construction began on 1,539 homes, representing a 33 per cent drop from the same month in 2005.  On a seasonally adjusted basis, the annual rate of housing starts dipped to 28,300 versus the January rate of 46,300.

The major factor contributing to February a sharp decline was the complete absence of new condominium apartment construction.  Condominium apartment starts are volatile, because they reflect the laying of foundations for entire multiple unit buildings at one time.


OWNERSHIP DEMAND REMAINS STRONG
February starts of the other lower density housing types decreased by a much smaller amount.  New footings for single-detacsemi-detachedached and town (row) houses were down by only 4.6 per cent.  New home construction will remain well above average in 2006.  The demand for ownership housing remains strong due to steady growth in employment and real wages coupled with very low borrowing costs.  Households remain confident in their ability to purchase and pay for a home over the long term.

Conclusion

However, due to the expected increase in the share of condominium apartment construction, starts will not be uniformly distributed throughout the year.  Rising average prices have shifted home buyer demand away from single and semi-detached houses toward less-expensive town homes and condominium apartments.  Year-to-date, the average price of a completed and absorbed single-detached home in the Toronto CMA rose to almost $457,000.  This price point is arguably too high for most first time buyers and many move-up buyers as well. From CMHC Market Analysis Centre - Toronto 2006

Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) - Function and Purpose

The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) was founded in 1920 by a small group of real estate practitioners. TREB is now Canada's largest real estate board. There are more than 23,000 Members of TREB.

As stated in their policy manual, the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) is committed to advancing the interests of real estate sales people and brokers who comprise of TREB's membership. Members of TREB are also members of the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) as well as the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

The Toronto Real Estate Board is the main real estate board in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) that is the home board for real estate agents in the GTA and surrounding areas. These agents belong to and use TREB on a daily basis to promote the mls listings of their clients. Members also utilize the mls data in the area. TREB is one of the largest organized real estate boards in all of North America.

TREB is also responsible for membership, ethics and arbitration decisions and mandates much of the direction of the membership with regards to the public and the government.

REALTORS® who are members of TREB are licensed professionals who must abide by a strict code of ethics and meet continuing education requirements to maintain their status.

The Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) should not be confused with any information advertised on any site or the multiple listing service site operated by CREA. The Multiple Listing Service is a tool accessed only by REALTOR® members with extensive depth and functionality.

Toronto Real Estate Board Members utilize various fundraising events to raise money to make significant contributions to local and national charities such as the Hospital for Sick Children and Habitat for Humanity Toronto. These fundraising activities have also resulted in the construction of a Habitat home for a family in need.

The Toronto Real Estate Board issues news releases twice a month. This includes a full statistical update on local real estate market conditions at the beginning of each month. The publication is called Market Watch and is available from any member realtor

ConclusionThe Toronto Real Estate Board is a very large real estate board that runs the MLS system for listings in the area. TREB helps many agents in the greater Toronto area supply timely and relevant information purchasers and to promote vendor client listings across the GTA and the Southern Ontario region.

What is CREA and how do they help Buyers, Sellers and Agents in Canada?

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is a trade association in Canada and it represents more than 82,000 real estate people across Canada .

CREA's primary mission is to represent its members at the federal level of government. CREA also defends the publics right to own and enjoy property in Canada .

CREA owns the MLS® trademark logo and name and has a proprietary interest in the REALTOR® trademark that is used in the United States . The REALTOR® trademark can only be used in Canada by members of The Canadian Real Estate Association. These members much accept and respect a strict Code of Ethics set out by CREA.

CREA also administers and owns the mls.ca site for the public. The real estate database systems operated by other member Boards (such as TREB) provide an ongoing inventory of available properties to mls.ca The website mls.ca ensures maximum exposure of properties listed for sale across Canada . This is important because most resale homes in Canada are listed on their local real estate boards and are available through MLS®. This also gives maximum exposure to any seller who decides to sell their property through a local real estate agent.

Buyers can access the mls listing for any property in Canada that is listed on a board that is a member of CREA.

Sellers benefit from CREA by the fact that their mls listing is available to all buyers across Canada and the world who wish to use the online version of the mls system created by CREA.

Conclusion

As you can see, CREA is a major force in organized real estate in Canada. CREA assists not only real estate agents, but also helps many sellers market their property through mls.ca and gives any potential buyer easy access to all mls listings in Canada.

You & Realtor Agency relationships explained in Ontario

The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) has always required that a seller and buyer clearly understand the nature and different types of relationships that are available to them with their broker. Under the newly rewritten Real Estate and Business Broker's Act (REBBA) that is coming out in March of 2006 this disclosure requirement is now law.

The Ontario Real Estate Association has produced an updated brochure that is called Working with a Realtor and it clarifies representation and customer service agreements and arrangements with your real estate agent. The brochure also includes a section that explains your real estate agents obligations and requirements under the Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics was also rewritten and updated with many new sections added or modified.

I can email you a copy of this new brochure so you may improve your understanding of agency relationships and take some of the confusion out of the entire process.

Please send me more information about Agency Relationships

Breaking Ontario Real Estate News - if your listing just expired - agents cannot contact you

Breaking News - if your listing just expired - agents cannot contact you

The question at hand is can a real estate agent contact a seller who had a listing on the mls that has now expired? The answer to this question falls under the privacy act.

A recent ruling by the Privacy Commissioner was that the agent used the expired mls listing to obtain the vendors name and address and used this information to market services to the seller and that this was improper.. Although the seller had authorized the original listing broker and the real estate board to use and disclose the information contained within the mls listing the seller did not consent to other brokers using any of that personal information being used by any other brokers to market their services.

The Privacy Commissioner explained that regardless of where the real estate agent found the sellers contact information, there is a link between the sellers previous intent to sell (as shown by the previous mls listing) and the sellers contact information. The ruling was that the real estate agent violated the personal information and property PIPEDA (find out what this means) from the information on the mls listing without the consent of the seller.

It is possible that all future mls listings will contain a clause that would give sellers the option of consenting to being marketing by other real estate agents after their listing expires.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that real estate agents cannot use the information contained in an expired mls listing agreement to contact those sellers without their prior consent. Even with a consent clause in all listing agreements, it will remain the decision of the seller to allow or deny other agents marketing their services to them after their listing expires.

Latest News from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) - March 7, 2006

February strong month for MLS®
Records broken in some major markets
Some of Canada's largest real estate Boards reported record MLS® sales in February, despite a new survey indicating a drop in the number of Canadians intending to buy a home in 2006.

The Toronto Real Estate Board also reported a nine per cent increase in MLS® sales in February compared to the same month a year ago. TREB President John Meehan said the 6,756 transactions represent the second best February ever, within two per cent of the record set in February of 2002.

"The performance of the Toronto area market early in the year has been very encouraging," Meehan said. “We are not yet at the peak of the spring season, but consumers are showing confidence in what is consistently proving to be a solid, healthy real estate market." TREB statistics showed that during February, two of the most expensive areas within the city of Toronto also ranked amongst the most active in terms of sales, compared to February 2005.

"The market is very stable," Meehan added. "Great conditions exist right now and smart consumers understand that it's a good time to buy that first home or make the move to a different one." The average transaction price reported by TREB also cracked the $350,000 mark for the first time in February.

Montreal's residential resale market broke another record in February by generating more than $1 billion in sales for the month. "All indicators point to another strong year for real estate in 2006," said Michel Beausejour, CEO of the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board.

A total of 4,978 sales were registered on the board's Multiple Listings Service® in February, up four per cent from 4,803 sales in the same month of 2005. The total sales dollar value in February was $1.02 billion, up 10 per cent compared with the $932 million recorded in February, 2005 on the Montreal area MLS® system.

The increase in average prices is one reason for the jump in total value. The average price of single-family homes in Montreal rose four per cent to $312,000.

The Winnipeg Real Estate Board says MLS® sales in February were the best for the month in the 103-year history of the Board. $115 million worth of properties were sold last month through the board's Multiple Listing Service®, an increase of 28 per cent from the $90 million sold in February of last year, which had been the best February on record. Last month also tied with 1988 for the best February on record for unit sales, with 794 properties changing hands.

"It just goes on and on," WREB president Walter Boni said in an interview yesterday. "And personally, I don't see it letting up any time soon, when you see the number of people out looking.” Boni said he hosted an open-house recently that drew more than 40 prospective buyers, and he knows of another that attracted more than 50. "That tells you what the demand is like," he said.

In Calgary, residential MLS® sales totaled 3,060 units, a 37.7 per cent increase over February 2005's sales of 2,223, and a 27.1 per cent increase over January 2006's sales of 2,408. The average combined residential sale price for February 2006 was $304,560 a 26 per cent increase over February 2005, and a 5.3 per cent increase over January 2006's average price of $289,130.

“The February real estate market continued to demonstrate the power of an open and competitive market; supplies remain limited and demand high resulting in increased prices and fast sales in many communities” explained CREB® President, Kevin Clark. “Despite the opportunity for many, we are not reading about the losers; if one chooses not to sell competitively or one buys without assistance the market can cost you a lot of money.”

A national survey of buying intentions published by the Royal Bank said home buying intentions are at their lowest level since 2000. "While the intention to buy is still evident, a natural slowdown following several record buying seasons may partially explain the mood among Quebecers when it comes to ... home buying," said Danielle Coutlee of RBC personal finance services. (CREA 07/03/2006)