Property prices are still looking strong in Toronto
Property prices are still strong for the month of April in Toronto. What this shows us is that for sellers the pandemic is not causing them to panic and drop prices. There is a lot of faith in the local market and the general feeling is that the economy will bounce back when it comes to real estate (not all sectors of the economy will be so lucky for example restaurants and entertainment businesses).
Average sales price went up very slightly in April 2020
See graph below from TRREB data. So unfortunately for Buyers it means there are no real “bargains” to be had out there. Prices are what they were before the Pandemic. Now keep in mind this is April 2020 data so we need to see the May data when it becomes available. Obviously the longer this continues the more the impact.
What we did see was a BIG drop in volume.
The inventory year over year, ie. April 2019 compared to April 2020 was down about 70%!! This is not unexpected because sellers essentially hit the pause button for putting their property on the market. We anticipate a big rush to market in the next few weeks, as the pent up demand is suddenly released. This means that we have not yet had our “Spring Market” for 2020. The Spring market has been delayed and pushed forward into the summer. So what we can expect is a roaring summer and no breaks into the fall!!
Necessary social and physical distancing and use of PPE
For now we need to continue the necessary social and physical distancing and use of PPE to keep the pandemic under control. However as the new normal comes into effect we can expect trading to resume and a rebound effect, with a flux of Buyers who have been able to access low interest rates for mortgages.
REFERENCES
http://trreb.ca/index.php/market-news/market-stats
