January 2009 Real Estate Market Update

January 2009 had 20,450 homes listed for sale in Mississauga, Oakville, Brampton, Toronto and GTA compared to January last year, where there were around 15,900 properties listed for sale.

The result has been that the average time for a home to remain on the market is about 49 days. This is up 13 days compared to 2008 because of the increased inventory and the current market conditions.

The current market conditions have resulted in fewer sales since there were 2,670 sales reported in January 2009 compared to the same month a year ago that recorded around 5,075 sales.

Of those 2670 sales, 1,106 took place in Toronto compared to 2,128 in January 2008. In the 905 area (Mississauga, Milton, Oakville, Brampton, and other areas), 1,564 sales were recorded, from 2,947 last year.

It is noteworthy to mention that sales for January a year ago may have been elevated by the flurry of transactions completed before the City of Toronto land transfer tax went into effect.

Home and Condominium Prices are becoming affordable. The average home price in Toronto as of January 2009 was around $364,415 compared to $404,202 in January of 2008. In the 905 Region (Mississauga, Oakville, Brampton, and other areas) the average price recorded in January of 2009 was around $328,935 vs. $352,965 recorded in January of 2008. It's a buyers market as we are seeing lower prices now on the market and more choice.

There has also been an increase of rental transactions in the Greater Toronto Area. When comparing from September 1st 2008 to December 31 2008, there was around 3,400 rented condominium apartments and townhouses. This represented an increase of 30% since only 2,635 transactions were recorded during the same in 2007. This increase is likely from economic conditions and from rental listings in the many newly constructed condominium apartment buildings.

The Greater Toronto Area Real Estate market has followed the broader economic slowdown. As sales have decline and active listing remain high this historically leads to increased choice and a moderation in price growth.

With a good supply and inventory of homes, low interest rates and more affordable prices, these are providing a good reason for buyers to enter the real estate market. The average family is now able to qualify for a mortgage on a more moderate priced home.

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