President’s Toronto SUN Column: Home Prices Continue To Trend Upward
Posted by: Toronto Real Estate Admin / Category: Toronto RealtorTREB President’s Column as it appears every Friday in the Toronto Sun’s Resale Homes and Condos section.
March 7, 2014 — Home sales reported by Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® were up by 2.1 per cent compared to the same period last year. Total February sales amounted to 5,731 compared to 5,613 last year.
And despite the continuation of inclement weather in February, we did see a moderate uptick in sales activity last month. The sales increase was largely driven by resale condominium apartments. New listings of resale condominium apartments were up on a year-over-year basis, giving buyers ample choice. This is in contrast to the listings situation for singles, semis and townhomes, where supply continued to be constrained. Some would-be buyers had difficulty finding a home that met their needs.
If we see renewed growth in listings for low-rise home types, the pace of sales growth will accelerate as we move through the year.
The average selling price for February 2014 sales was up by 8.6 per cent to $553,193, compared to the average of $509,396 reported for February 2013. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 7.3 per cent year-over-year.
I spoke with Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis, and here is what he had to say about the market report.
“While the strong price growth experienced over the last year should prompt an improvement in the supply of listings, sellers’ market conditions will continue to prevail this year. Home prices, on average, will trend upwards at a pace well-above the rate of inflation. The impact of strong price growth on affordability will be mitigated by low borrowing costs,” said Mr. Mercer.
TREB’s Commercial Network also released its latest figures. Commercial Network Members reported 368,513 square feet of leased space through the TorontoMLS system in February, for properties leased on a per square foot net basis where pricing was disclosed. This result was down by 17 per cent in comparison to February 2013. The industrial market segment, which accounted for more than three quarters of the square footage leased, was the driver of the year-over-year dip.
I asked TREB’s Commercial Chair Cynthia Lai to provide her outlook on the latest figures.
“There were fewer lease agreements signed for larger industrial spaces this past February in comparison to the same period last year. It is important to note, however, that leasing activity can be volatile on a month-to-month basis. With that being said, the overall average lease rate for industrial properties was up slightly in comparison to last year,” said Ms Lai.
The average industrial lease rate in February 2014 was $5.26 per square foot net – up by 1.2 per cent compared to $5.20 in February 2013. Average lease rates were also up for the commercial/retail and office segments of the market. While market forces accounted for some of the commercial/retail and office increases, a change in the mix of properties leased, in terms of size and geography, also impacted the annual rates of growth.
The number of combined industrial, commercial/retail and office property sales in February 2014 remained in line with the number of transactions reported during the same time period in 2013. There was a total of 48 sales reported this year, for which pricing was disclosed, compared to 51 sales in 2013.
The year-over-year change in average selling prices on a per square foot basis was mixed. The industrial selling price in February was up substantially in comparison to the same period last year, whereas the average prices for commercial/retail and office properties were down.
The share and geographic location of industrial sales over fifty thousand square feet was different this past February compared to 2013. This accounted for the large year-over-year change in the average industrial selling price. Average industrial selling prices for smaller size categories were similar on a year-over-year basis.
Dianne Usher is President of the Toronto Real Estate Board,
a professional association that represents 37,000 REALTORS®
in the Greater Toronto Area.
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Article source: http://www.torontorealestateboard.com/market_news/president_columns/pres_sun_col/index.htm
Tags: Toronto Realtor