Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

Lack Of Homes On The Market To Drive Toronto Real Estate Prices, Realtors Say

The Canadian Press, 31 Jan, 2017 12:17 PM
    TORONTO — A lack of homes for sale is expected to drive Toronto's sizzling housing market to another year of double-digit price increases, the city's real estate board said Tuesday.
     
    The Toronto Real Estate Board said the average price for all types of housing is forecast to rise to about $825,000 — up from $730,472 in December and $729,922 for the 2016 calendar year.
     
    The largest year-over-year price increases will be for low-rise types of housing such as detached and semi-detached homes and townhouses, said the board, which represents about 46,000 real estate brokers and salespersons.
     
    "While changes to federal mortgage lending guidelines and higher borrowing costs may impact some would-be homebuyers, the big impediment will be the lack of inventory," Jason Mercer, the board's director of market analysis, said in a statement.
     
    The number of listings at the end of December were at their lowest since before 2000, Mercer said.
     
    "It is unlikely that the shortage of listings will improve to any great degree over the course of the next year," he said. "This will put a ceiling on sales growth."
     
     
    The board estimates there will be between 104,500 and 115,500 home sales this year through its MLS system — more or less similar to the 113,133 recorded last year.
     
    The group is repeating its call for the private, public and not-for-profit sectors to seek solutions to increase the supply of properties for sale in the Toronto region rather than attempt to reduce demand from would-be buyers.
     
    It said a foreign buyers' tax, which some called for to rein in Toronto house prices after such a levy was implemented in Vancouver, would be misguided. It pointed to a survey it conducted among its members late last year that concluded 4.9 per cent of transactions in the Greater Toronto Area involved foreigners.
     
    After a tax on foreign nationals buying property in Vancouver was introduced in August, the city saw a whopping drop in the number of homes sold — in some cases, monthly sales fell between 30 to nearly 40 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Delhi University Student Alleges Molestation By Bank Clerk

    An 18-year-old first year student of Delhi University's Daulat Ram College was allegedly molested by a 52-year-old bank clerk inside his car in the North Campus on Wednesday, following which he was arrested, police said.

    Delhi University Student Alleges Molestation By Bank Clerk

    B.C. Jury To Begin Deliberations For Men Accused Of Smuggling Nearly 500 Tamil Migrants

    B.C. Jury To Begin Deliberations For Men Accused Of Smuggling Nearly 500 Tamil Migrants
    A jury in Vancouver is expected to begin deliberations on Thursday in the case of four men accused of smuggling hundreds of Tamil migrants into Canada.

    B.C. Jury To Begin Deliberations For Men Accused Of Smuggling Nearly 500 Tamil Migrants

    Cops Can Fix Small Errors On Tickets After Issuing Them, Appeal Court Rules

    Cops Can Fix Small Errors On Tickets After Issuing Them, Appeal Court Rules
    TORONTO — An officer who fixes minor mistakes after issuing a ticket does not affect its validity, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled Thursday.

    Cops Can Fix Small Errors On Tickets After Issuing Them, Appeal Court Rules

    Loonie Loses More Than A Cent After Poloz Says Rate Cut Still 'On The Table'

      The loonie lost 1.16 U.S. cents to 75.42 cents US, as it also felt the weight of falling crude prices and a strengthening greenback.

    Loonie Loses More Than A Cent After Poloz Says Rate Cut Still 'On The Table'

    Sukhbir Badal Branding NRIs As Terrorists, We Condemn It: AAP

    Sukhbir Badal Branding NRIs As Terrorists, We Condemn It: AAP
    The AAP on Thursday condemned Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal for what a party leader said were "remarks branding the whole Punjabi community settled abroad as terrorists and accusing the AAP of getting funds from radicals".

    Sukhbir Badal Branding NRIs As Terrorists, We Condemn It: AAP

    Moscow Nightclub Hosts Early Inauguration Party For Donald Trump

    Moscow Nightclub Hosts Early Inauguration Party For Donald Trump
    MOSCOW — Twenty-four hours before Donald Trump is to be sworn in as president of the United States, several dozen people packed a Moscow nightclub to celebrate his inauguration early.

    Moscow Nightclub Hosts Early Inauguration Party For Donald Trump