Home Sales Break 8,000 in April for the Greater Toronto Area & Durham Region

 

In April units of re-sale homes were down 7% from April of 2008 however the housing market has gained momentum on a month-over-month basis with sales in April up 26% over March.

Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O'Neill stated "Conditions in the resale housing market have improved markedly this Spring. Home purchases have increased as homebuyers have taken advantage of low interest rates and slightly lower home prices."

The rate of average home price declines continued to diminish last month, due in large part to a tightineing in the resale home market. The average price for resale homes was down only 3% from the same period last year. In the Whitby real estate market, that decline was only 2.25% for the month of April over April 2008.

In my March real estate update I reported the market was improving for Sellers. How can it be getting better for Sellers and still be favourable to Buyers at the same time? It's called "balance and stimulation."

We track more statistics than I have time to mention here, but two key indicators are "Sales to Active Listings ratios" and Sales to New Listings ratios" Both have been increasing pretty dramatically each month. In the graph to the right you can see we bottomed out in Nov/Dec but also notice the dramatic increase through March/April.

market

This increase simply means the resale housing market in Durham Region is tightening...good news for Sellers as this indicates there are a good number of homebuyers in the market. More homes that are being listed are selling plus, existing inventory is decreasing. True, that's not good for Buyers so what is?

For Home Buyers, affordability is better than it's been in a decade. True, the inventory has begun to tighten however prices have not increased; in fact they still show a slight decrease. Sellers have to price for the market. Also, interest rates are at all-time lows.

I sent out an email two days ago on new rate discounts we had received from one of our lenders. Immediately, one of our other brokers sent me an email that said "I can do better." I love competition! Don't think this will last forever. I believe interest rates will increase before prices do, and this is why home buyers should act in this window of opportunity.

My team has been involved in 10 multiple offers this year in the Whitby area; the most recent just yesterday. If you're a buyer, don't let this scare you off. There are plenty of resale homes to choose from and some great deals to be had; it's still the year of the Buyer.