Peter Bhandari

1 day ago

TORONTO - The latest real estate report from Scotia Economics has good news for home buyers and bad news for sellers: Canada is becoming a buyer's market.

The report says the longest postwar housing boom has come to an end, with prices dropping most in previously booming cities such as Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

But Scotia says Canada's real estate market slowdown is nowhere near the same scale as the collapse experienced in the United States.

Analysts say Canada's housing market is fundamentally different from its American counterpart.

The report says Canada's market is not overburdened with unsold houses, and new-home construction has slowed to reflect the flagging economy.

The report also says the slide in Canada's housing market is consistent with a global trend that saw prices drop in 10 developed countries this year.

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Peter Bhandari
Sales Representative
Royal LePage Credit Valley Real Estate
Web: http://www.PeterBhandari.com
Email: pb@royallepage.ca
Direct: 416-827-2340
Office: 905-793-5000 x 478

Here Are Some Number From Toronto Real Estate Board: "Good To Know Info"

Real estate agents in the Greater Toronto Area recorded 1,991 resale transactions during the first half of November 2008 down from the 3,544 sales recorded during the same period a year ago, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O'Neill announced today.

The Greater Toronto Area year-to-date figures show 70,474 sales in 2008 from 84,994 recorded during the same period in 2007. The year-to-date average price was recorded at $380,470 in 2008 from $374,678 in 2007.

In the 416 area, 830 homes changed hands in the first two weeks of November from 1,643 transactions recorded during the same time frame a year ago. The year-to-date figures show 28,126 compared to 35,045 recorded in 2007. In the 905 Region there were 1,161 sales during the first half of the month from the 1,901 transactions recorded at mid-November 2007. The year-to-date figures show 42,348 compared to 49,949 recorded in 2007.

‘It's particularly important to interpret the 416 area statistics in context given the market surge we saw a year ago when buyers moved to avoid the new Toronto Land Transfer Tax," said Ms. O'Neill. "At midmonth a year ago, transactions in the 416 area had increased 24 per cent over the same period in 2006."

In the 416 area, homes are currently selling for an average of $400,305 from the $432,972 average recorded during the same time period in 2007. An average price of $383,029 was recorded in the first two weeks of November 2006.

But on the other hand, in the 905 Region the average price is currently $358,130 from $358,610 recorded a year ago. During the first half of November 2006 the average price was recorded at $336,576.

"As an investment, a home not only offers shelter and an environment in which life's most important moments are shared, but also offers financial appreciation in the long term, said Ms. O'Neill."

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Peter Bhandari
Sales Representative
Royal LePage Credit Valley Real Estate
Web: http://www.PeterBhandari.com
Email: pb@royallepage.ca
Direct: 416-827-2340
Office: 905-793-5000 x 478

TREB Members reported 5,155 salesin October, down 35 per cent from the 7,915 sales reported in October of 2007, and also down 25 per cent from the 6,876 sales reported during October 2006. Within the City of Toronto, 2,136 sales were recorded. This was down 38 per cent from the 3,455 sales recorded in October of last year. In the 905 suburbs, however, the 3,019 sales recorded were down 32 per cent from October 2007’s figure of 4,460. GTA-wide, prices declined 10 per cent to $352,974 from last October’s average of $394,646. They were down one per cent over the average recorded in October 2006 of $356,423. As with sales, price declines differed according to region.The City of Toronto average was $376,896, down 13 per cent from the $434,022 recorded during the same month in 2007, and down about three per cent from the $386,807 recorded in October 2006. Meanwhile, the average for the City’s 905 suburbs was $336,049.This is down eight per cent from the $364,142 recorded last October, and up one per cent from the $333,166 recorded in October 2006. Breaking down the total, 2,064 sales were reported in TREB’s 28 West districts and averaged $335,329; 892 sales were reported in the 14 Central districts and averaged $450,437; 946 sales were reported in the 23 North districts and averaged $382,032; and 1,253 sales were reported in TREB’s 21 East districts and averaged $290,719.

________________________________________________________________

Peter Bhandari
Sales Representative
Royal LePage Credit Valley Real Estate
Web: http://www.PeterBhandari.com

Email: pb@royallepage.ca
Direct: 416-827-2340
Office: 905-793-5000 x 478

Term Bank Posted Discount Rates
6 Month 6.35% 5.75%
1 Year 6.35% 4.35%
2 Year 6.55% 5.35%
3 Year 7.04% 5.35%
4 Year 7.04% 5.50%
5 Year 7.20% 5.25%
7 Year 7.65% 6.00%
10 Year 8.30% 6.45%
Variable Rate 5.00% (Prime +1%)

Rate Are Subject to Change Without Notice. Some Conditions Apply.

Five Years Fixed Is Good, however, would like see some more drop in the interest rates from the lenders in the near future, hopefully.....

What do you all say...?

Market deterioration surprises analysts, implies 'bust has begun'

It doesn't bode well for consumer confidence this Christmas when the value of an existing Canadian home is worth $30,000 less than a year ago, as the accelerated pace of the housing slowdown continues to surprise analysts.

"Canadian home sales look to be one of the biggest casualties from the intense market turmoil," BMO Nesbitt Burns economist Doug Porter wrote in a note.

"We declared early this year that the housing boom was over, and these figures on the surface would suggest the bust has begun."

The average price of a home in October was $281,133, compared with $312,024 in October of 2007, according to figures released yesterday by the Canadian Real Estate Association.

In Ontario, the average price was down 10 per cent to $281,661 in October, compared with $312,937 in October of 2007.

Sales were also down by 14 per cent in October over September, the largest month-over-month decline in seasonally adjusted sales in more than 14 years.

"The dramatic fall-off in existing home sales and prices is clearly more profound than economic fundamentals would suggest," says Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities. "The exaggerated pace of deterioration suggested by this report is quite surprising, if not a little concerning."

Fewer sales in the key Toronto market accounted for nearly one-third of the decline in national activity.

Sales declined by a stunning 35 per cent in the Toronto area in October compared with a year ago, while prices were down 10 per cent.

"The major drop in consumer confidence and a steady stream of economic bad news from the financial markets is taking its toll on the national housing market," said CREA president Calvin Lindberg. "When consumers are not confident about their financial situation, they're not active in the housing market, and that in turn impacts the economy more."

The impact of the global credit crunch has had real estate economists busy revising their forecasts downward for next year.

"A strong likelihood of an economic recession has emerged from the crisis, and along with it dramatically weaker housing demand," says a report by the Altus Group. "Expect sharply lower housing starts in 2009 as Canadian housing markets get pummelled by these forces."

Ontario, which is bearing the brunt of the economic slowdown, "will continue to do so going forward," says the report. "Weaker demand along with financing issues may put many planned projects on hold, particularly in the Toronto condominium apartment sector."

Some analysts see the new-build condo sector, with almost 300 projects on the market, as particularly vulnerable to a downswing.

Some projects are not expected to go ahead as demand falls and financing gets harder to obtain. But some developers think that may be a good thing.

"It's not a sign of anything other than business is healthy and things need to be weeded to be stronger," says Julie Di Lorenzo, Diamante Development Corp. co-president. "Name me one business area that doesn't shed the weakest links. New players will gain more experience, fine tune their business plans and come back into the market."

Last week the condominium developer held a groundbreaking for its luxury project The Florian, where prices start at $1 million. The developer took out a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. policy that insures construction financing, she says.

Meanwhile, Porter says to expect a "further decline in sales and some further correction in prices in the year ahead, especially in cities that had the biggest booms."
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Contact : Peter Bhandari

Sales Representative

Royal LePage Credit Valley Real Estate

http://www.PeterBhandari.com

Direct: 4168272340

Office: 905-793-5000 X 478

pb@royallepage.ca