JimĀ Flaherty: “Buy” ?
Home Prices Continue to Rise Across the GTA … Wow
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford urges folks not to make the same “mistake” like him, Ā but to move on to buy more real estate ?
For the last year economists were worried about a housing bubble, especially across the GTA with condos ā but the more data that comes in, the more we understand that the amount of quality, desirable properties makes the luxury home market different.
Did You Know: The average home price across the GTA in September was $534,000?
Home sales were up 30% compared with September of last year, and prices rose 6.5%, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board⦠but what does this mean for you? Should you wait to buy a home with rising prices? Is it easier to sell a home in the GTA right now?
Understanding the New Mortgage Rules
If youāve just glanced at a newspaper in the last year and a half youāve probably seen someone prognosticating the end times when it comes to the housing market ā year here we are, 15 months in to the new housing rules and people are still buying and selling homes. Almost 70,000 homes have been bought and sold this last year, proving that sometimes the forecasters get it wrong.
But why?
Most of the mortgage rules came down hard on buyers that were looking at homes in the $300,000 range ā while most homes in the GTA are going for $500,000+. With international interest and investment at an all-time high across the GTA, for many homebuyers price isnāt an object, and financing isnāt an issue.
Home Prices Continue to Rise
Both traditional, detached homes and condos have continued to rise across the GTA, especially in Oakville! Sales are up almost 30% for condos on average, and the average price for a home over the last year has been $520,000 ā up 4% from a year ago. So while the mortgage rules have cut some people off from financing, it doesnāt seem to have slowed things down all that much.
Keeping Pace with Inflation
The goal each year is for home values and sale prices to keep place with inflation ā and theyāve been exceeding them. Most of the demand is for ālow riseā homes, but condos are seeing a bump. With interest rates expected to remain stable through the end of the year. Markets are expected to slow down a bit once the winter season starts in late December, but with that being months off itās not expected to make much of an impact for now.
Is Now the Right Time to Buy and Sell?
Many buyers and sellers just donāt know if now is the right time to buy or to sell ā but even a 2% increase on the home of your dreams is a small price to pay. Locking in those low interest rates, if anything, goes a long way towards making the difference.
The same goes for sellers ā now is the time to sell. If you want to be able to get top dollar for your home and find good buyers, now is the time to do it.
Meanwhile Toronto Mayor Ford urges residents to watch his crack smoking video and perhaps smoke a join or two … Then continue to buy more real estate ?
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford apologizes to Toronto, says he’s ‘made mistakes’
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford apologized to the people of Toronto on his radio showSunday, saying heās āmade mistakesā but that he will continue to do āthe job I was elected to do three years ago.ā
āUnfortunately, I cannot change the past,ā Ford said at the start of his weekly radio show on Newstalk 1010. āI can just move forward and learn from the past which Iāll assure I am doing.ā
āThereās no one to blame but myself and I take full responsibility for it,ā he said, without specifying why he was apologizing.
Ford also called on Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair to release the alleged crack video āfor every single person in the city to see.ā
He said residents ādeserveā to see the video and ājudge for themselves.ā
āThat is the right thing to do, and chief, I am asking you to release this video now,ā he said.
Read more:Ā http://www.ctvnews.ca/
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