Is There Light at the End of Toronto’s Housing Tunnel?

If you have been watching the news lately there seems to be little hope for things in our Toronto housing market to get better for a long time. The barrage of cataclysmic forecasting is simply more than most of us can bear. But not all of us see the future as bleak as most of these forecasters do.

Case in point – my office keeps a board where all monthly home sales are displayed. In the last 30 days we have had 3 homes sold above the asking price. All three homes are located in central Toronto neighbourhoods. 

The first home was listed in the high five hundred thousand range and sold for ten thousand dollars over the asking price. The second one was listed in the low five hundred thousand range and was sold in the mid-five hundreds. The third home was on the market in the low eight hundred thousand and it sold for twenty five thousand dollars more than the asking price.  

So my question is … given what we all know about the housing market, why do some buyers still decide to pay more than the asking price for a home in Toronto?

Couple of reasons. Buyers are mightily relieved to see more homes available to chose from, thereby alleviating the pressure to buy right away.

Perhaps the simplest answer is that deep inside, most of us know that the world will not end and that all economic slowdowns do come to an end. Today there is even more reason to be optimistic when we look at the approach most developed countries are taking. For the first time in history there is a coordinated effort by governments to act in sync in trying to stimulate their own economies. 

Let’s begin the process in Toronto and show the world that – in the words of Barack Obama – Yes, We Can.

Want to receive best home buying opportunities in Toronto by email? Send me an email.

Buying a Second House Before Selling Your Home is a Recipe for Disaster in Today’s Toronto Market

David and Wendy Scott (not their real names) had been thinking of moving to a larger home ever since the birth of their second baby in the spring of 2008. They wanted a larger backyard where Wendy could watch the toddlers from inside the house. 

They looked at several homes and fell in love with a lovely detached home on a quiet street in one of Toronto’s central neighbourhoods. Once they found this home, they wanted to put an offer in immediately and bought the house at almost the full asking price. They gave no thought to the sale of their current home until after they had purchased the new house. 

The next day when they sat down to list their house for sale, they assumed they could ask the same price as those of similar homes that had been selling a few months earlier in their neighbourhood. 

The reality that unfolded over the first couple weeks of their listing was that prices had come down and their home did not sell. David and Wendy even refused an offer feeling that it was too low.  

They now own two homes which they can not afford to keep. 

Moral of the story:
What was standard procedure for almost ten years, does not work today. Do not buy before you sell … unless you make your offer conditional on the sale of your home.

Need some no-strings-attached advice about buying or selling in central Toronto? Write to me at rsmithcarr@sympatico.ca or call me at 416-482-8360 ext. 3519

Fewer Sales and High Number of Listings Benefit Toronto Home Buyers

On January 19, 2009 TREB President Maureen O’Neill announced that Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 888 sales during the first half of January 2009, compared to 1,776 in the first 15 days of 2008.  

Back in January 2000 there were 2,690 homes sold. In January 2005, TREB reported that sales had broken the 4000 level. Only five times in history had TREB January sales reached such high levels. 

When we compare the 888 sales for the first half of January 2009 to a more balanced year, such as 2000 with about 1340 sales in mid-January, then the first half of January 2009 does not look so catastrophic. After all, we all expected and hoped for a return to more “normal market conditions.” 

In January 2009, stronger declines in sales and prices were experienced in the City of Toronto. “Sales for January a year ago may have been elevated by the flurry of transactions completed before the city’s land transfer tax went into effect,” added Ms. O’Neill.

The average GTA price mid-way through January is $332,495 from $367,574 during the same period in 2008. The median GTA price was $301,000 compared to 316,000 last year. 

What does it all mean? With prices continuing to adjust and a higher number of homes for sale, Toronto home buyers are able to relax for the first time in many years.

MoZo Condo with Amazing Views in Toronto Now Available

Noted for its innovative smart architecture, this mid-rise building is clad in brick, steel and mostly glass, with double-height glass panels at the exterior grade level. This unit with south and west spectacular views has had a complete interior rebuild with meticulous attention to detail using the highest standard of interior finishes.

The flooring has been replaced with dark hardwood and with honed statuario marble in bathrooms and kitchen. Designer lighting punctuates the white ceiling.

A zone controlled entertainment speaker system with theatre sound ensure the ultimate in enjoyment.

Thirteen hundred plus square feet, two bedrooms, two and a half baths, and thirty five foot-long living room-dining room of continuous views over Lake Ontario and the Toronto Island await the new owner.

Two terraces, clear skyline, lake views!

The Feeling of New York, Miami and Paris! Steps to restaurants, the Market and financial district.

The TriBeCa of Toronto!

Priced at $695,000

Want to see all restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, grocery stores and more close to 333 Adelaide Street East? 
Simply click here

For more information about this amazing unit call me, Rosalin Smith-Carr at 416-482-8330 ext.3519 or send me an email,

Attention Home Sellers – What’s Hot and What’s Not with Buyers

Fresh and natural is in, and less is more. Or so says noted interior designer, Ben Sundermeier. “The things we see coming are more natural, a little bit of green,” explains Sundermeier. “In wall coverings, it’s back to grass cloth, back to organic textures like raffia or handmade paper.”

In the KITCHEN, the trend is towards Old World cabinetry in wood or painted finishes. The goal is to make the “kitchen furniture” (including the cupboards) fit in with the rest of the house.

Brushed nickel and cold stainless steel are out, warm-hued copper and brass fixtures and hardware are in. Also out are divided sinks, to be replaced by over-sized single ones.

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Canadians See Lower House Prices, According to Latest Survey

A survey by the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) has found that more than twice as many Canadians today, compared with last spring, expect real estate prices to drop even further. In hard terms, that means 35 percent of us now believe that housing prices are on their way down. 

“Almost one-half of those surveyed gave a neutral answer, while the number who thought prices would go up fell from 40 per cent to 20 per cent,” CAAMP stated in their recent press release. “Westerners, who have endured particularly hot housing markets, are most negative, and in British Columbia, 48 per cent of those surveyed said they expect prices to fall, far above the national average.”

The CAAMP online poll surveyed approximately 2,000 Canadians in October, 2008.

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