The Toronto Real Estate Board recently released their annual report, which details what happened in the GTA’s real estate market in 2016 and their analysis for what will happen in 2017. Whether you are looking to buy or sell a home in Markham or you just like to know what’s up with the market, this report is an important indicator of the status of housing in the GTA.
Record sales
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and in this market, you may just be with the cost of housing), you know that home sales and prices have been rising rapidly in the GTA. 2016 saw record sales again, with the reasons being related to population growth, low mortgage rates, and a strong demand with a low inventory. 2017 will most likely see a bit of a cooling, but not because of a lack of buyers, but because of a lack of inventory. The last few years have seen a steady decline in listings, but 2017’s numbers will be the lowest they have been since 1999.
Continuing the seller’s market
With a high demand for low-rise homes in Markham and the rest of the GTA, but a low amount of homes for sale, 2016 and continuing into 2017 is a seller’s market. This means that seller’s price demands will be met, for lack of another option. Average selling prices for homes will be approximately $820,000, with a rise of 16% for the year.
Foreign buyers
It is all too easy for analysts and others to blame foreign buyers as the cause of the rise in the GTA housing market, but this report shows that this simply isn’t the case. Non-resident buyers only accounted for 4.9% of transactions in the GTA in 2016, and the majority of homes were bought for the buyer or their family member to live in, or for rental purposes. As well, non-resident buyers are buying in a higher price range than the average buyer, with the majority of homes bought by foreign buyers purchased at over $1 million. A study conducted also found that the foreign buyer tax in Vancouver is having little effect on the market in the GTA and that less than 2% of non-resident buyers had first considered that city before purchasing in Toronto and the GTA.
Home ownership affordability
With the rise in prices and the lack of inventory, it can be surmised that homes are no longer affordable in the GTA. The report stated the opposite, offering that homeowner housing costs, which include the income dedicated to paying the mortgage, utility costs and property taxes, were still well below the affordability ceiling of 39% for the majority of homeowners.
If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Markham in 2017, contact me for more information.
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