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2016_07_28

Toronto’s housing market is HOT. Supply is not meeting up with demand and prices of homes continue to steadily rise.

What does Toronto’s record breaking year mean for you as a buyer?

Important Numbers

  • 12,794 – The number of GTA homes sold in June.
  • 5% – The increase in activity from the previous year.
  • 8 % – The drop in listings from June of last year.
  • 1,002 and 10, 823 – The number of detached homes for sale in the GTA on June 30th in 2016 and 2006, respectively.
  • $1,259,486 – The average selling price of a detached home in the city of Toronto, 20 per cent rise from a year ago.
  • 11/1000 – The ratio of housing units under construction per Toronto Citizens.

Bidding Wars

Bidding wars are very common in today’s market and are hard to avoid. Bidding wars occur when two or more buyers are interested in a property and they make increasingly higher offers. Even in Aurora, bidding wars are commonplace and can sometimes include five or more interested parties.

Bully Offers

For very desirable homes, a Realtor will often list the property for sale and then hold off on offers until a specified date. Doing this can allow many potential buyers to view the property, who will then hopefully submit an offer when the date arrives. This is where bully offers come in: they can be used as a way for potential buyers to try to avoid a bidding war, or to purchase a home with little to no competition.

If you really love a home, you can ask your Realtor to put in a bully offer for you. This type of offer is typically for the full asking price, or well above it.  So, what is the ‘bully’ part? You would be submitting this offer before the seller’s chosen offer date, including a specified irrevocable time. Listing agents are legally obligated to present all written offers to their client, even if they are submitted before the offer date. It is then up to the seller to decide if they want to consider your offer. If they do decide to work with your offer, the listing agent must remove the offer date and inform other interested agents that they are now also allowed to submit offers. With a short irrevocable time on your offer, you leave little time for other potential buyers to meet up with their Realtor, sign an offer and submit it to the seller.

The HOT market has been influenced by low supply, low interest rates, and new arrivals in the GTA – and it does not show signs of stopping any time soon. To get some more information and charts summarizing average prices, listings and trends, visit the Toronto Real Estate Board website.

If you are ready to make a move in the Toronto real estate market and would like to have a knowledgeable expert on your side – give me a call anytime and I would be happy to answer any of your questions: 416 – 921-1112.