Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 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

    3 Calgary Paramedics Hurt When Dealing With Man Inside Home; Police Arrest Him

    CALGARY — A man is in custody after three paramedics were hurt while responding to a call to a Calgary home.

    3 Calgary Paramedics Hurt When Dealing With Man Inside Home; Police Arrest Him

    Man Turns Himself In After $1Million In Illicit Drugs Seized In New Westminster, B.C.

    Man Turns Himself In After $1Million In Illicit Drugs Seized In New Westminster, B.C.
    New Westminster police say multiple RCMP detachments and border officials began investigating in March 2016.

    Man Turns Himself In After $1Million In Illicit Drugs Seized In New Westminster, B.C.

    CP Rail train carrying coal derails near Ashcroft, B.C.

    CP Rail train carrying coal derails near Ashcroft, B.C.
    ASHCROFT, B.C. — A Canadian Pacific Railway freight train carrying coal derailed near Ashcroft, B.C., Thursday afternoon.

    CP Rail train carrying coal derails near Ashcroft, B.C.

    BC Hydro Agrees To Pay $1m To Municipality Affected By Site C Dam

    BC Hydro Agrees To Pay $1m To Municipality Affected By Site C Dam
    A joint news release from Hudson's Hope and Hydro says they've reached a partnership agreement after extensive discussions.

    BC Hydro Agrees To Pay $1m To Municipality Affected By Site C Dam

    Vandals Threw Red Paint At Office Of Kingston, Ont., MP Gerretsen, Police Say

    Vandals Threw Red Paint At Office Of Kingston, Ont., MP Gerretsen, Police Say
    Police are seeking the public's help in identifying people who vandalized a member of Parliament's office.

    Vandals Threw Red Paint At Office Of Kingston, Ont., MP Gerretsen, Police Say

    Six New Charges Laid Against Ex-ontario Nurse Accused Of Killing Seniors

    Six New Charges Laid Against Ex-ontario Nurse Accused Of Killing Seniors
    A former Ontario nurse charged with killing eight seniors in two long-term care homes was accused Friday of attempting to kill others in her care by injecting them with insulin.

    Six New Charges Laid Against Ex-ontario Nurse Accused Of Killing Seniors