TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – May 20, 2009) – Greater Toronto REALTORS^® reported 4,561 transactions in the first half of May – an increase of three per cent compared to May 2008.

“Members reported a rise in buying activity this month,” said TREB President Maureen O’Neill. “Many home buyers who were undecided about purchasing a home during the winter months are now proceeding with confidence as a result of the GTA housing market’s affordability.”

The average price for MLS^® sales was in line with last year, down by less than one-half of one per cent at $399,811.

“More sales and fewer listings resulted in tighter market conditions which pushed the average selling price back up to last year’s level,” according to Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “Look for new listings to increase as home owners react to the positive news surrounding home sales and prices.”

May 2009 Mid-Month Statistics

Year-Over-Year Regional Breakdown
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                                  2009                      2008
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                         Sales    Average Price      Sales    Average Price
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City of Toronto ("416")  1,864         $439,459      1,734         $437,205
Rest of GTA ("905")      2,697         $372,408      2,688         $377,344
GTA                      4,561         $399,811      4,422         $400,817
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Source: Toronto Real Estate Board

Just yesterday, I had the pleasure of helping a wonderful family from Montreal buy an outstanding house in the Dorset Park section of Milton. The house is on one of the big lots in town – 52′ x 153′ – and has been done over to the 9′s, or more accurately, to the 10′s! I am very partial to this model of house, and was thrilled to see what can be done to open up this particular style of side-split. I, very seriously, told my clients that I was very glad my wife hadn’t seen the house, or we’d have been moving, and I am happy where we are.

What got me about this house was that it sold for a price about $65,000 lower than I think it could have sold for 18 months ago. On the price of the home, that is a saving of around 18%. That is phenomenal! My clients were fortunate, because we were in a multiple-offer situation, and they are ecstatic, because this house is everything they want in a home for their extended family.

As I think about this purchase, and as I do research for some other clients today, I realize that the market really has turned. Not in the $350,000 + range, but in the lower price ranges. I just checked the MLS, and there are only 2 freehold homes with 3 bedrooms under $260,000. That is a huge contrast to January this year, when there were 23 homes that fit that criteria.

Folks, whether you are first-time buyers, or you are investors whose criteria is newer freehold townhouses, you need to get into the market now! The sale is rapidly coming to an end; don’t be one of the people standing there, wishing they had taken action. Take action TODAY! Call me at 905-208-7002.

This week in real estate has been pretty exciting, and very active in the markets. Not active a la 2006, but

active in a very positive way. Here’s a video commentary on a few things, and below is the weekly Total Market Overview and the updated Annual Summary.

As you can see in the price-range summary, the activity has been in the higher price ranges, largely due to the outstanding interest rates and reduced prices.

In the annual summary, you can see that it would appear that we are heading for a 180 swing of the market, given the low number of available listings, however, the ‘rule of thumb’ is that anything more than a 7-month supply of properties is a Buyer’s market. Overall, Milton has about an 8-month supply, as judged by the Pending Ration column in the annual summary. However, if you look at the Pending Ratio in the weekly update, you will see that some price ranges have a very limited supply; that is the cause for my ongoing commentary that the time to act is NOW

Another installment from Keller Williams Research . . .

Note that the 5.25% rate they refer to is the posted rate; available rates are around 3.5%

Don’t know about the spelling, but that’s the name of a song that was featured in the movie ‘Walk The Line’.

Folks, time’s-a-wastin’ on the opportunities in this market! A few months back, I wrote about how this market is a limited opportunity, sort of like the sales that car dealers have – limited opportunities. We are still in a ‘Perfect Storm’ of a real estate market, a never-before-seen convergence of reduced prices, lower rates than in history, and when it costs more to rent than to buy. It won’t last; it can’t, because as more and more sellers see the activity in the market, then more and more buyers will wake up and smell the roses, and then we’ll be in serious bidding wars again.

You just have to follow the conversations on FaceBook and Twitter, Active Rain and a few other places where Realtors gather, to get the picture of what is happening in the Canadian real estate markets. Scroll down a few posts and look at the charts in ‘This Month In Real Estate Canada’ and you’ll see what is happening.

Here’s a snip from a great post on http://Active Rain.com :

My little sister called me the other day and in an excited voice declared, “I think I might need to look at houses…It’s a GREAT time to buy a house right now, you know!”

After the pregnant pause ensued (the one where my condescending big sister brain struggled with my professional Realtor brain) I finally said, “No? Really? What makes you think that?” (You can tell which brain won out.)

“Well. I have a friend who just got a fantastic deal on a house and I think it might be time for me to think about looking!”

Ok, so which part of what I have been saying for months now did she mis

s? Apparently, the same part that ALOT of buyers are missing…that would be the part that sounds just like Charlie Brown’s teacher talking whenever somebody you aren’t listening to tells you something: Wah, wah, wah, wah…

Read the rest here

I’ve written before about the sort of herd mentality that surrounds buyers – when not a lot of people are buying houses, buyers seem to think the prudent thing to do is wait, because, after all, if it was a great time to buy, wouldn’t everyone be buying? Well, when everyone else is buying, prices go up, bidding wars ensue, and all the buyers lose. If that sort of buying is your preferred style, then I’ll be more than happy to help you. But if getting a great house at a lower price and at historically low interest rates is something that appeals to you, call me TODAY and let’s see if you can get in on this before it’s too late.

I know that a lot of people are worried about their jobs, but it costs less to buy than to rent, so unless you plan on living in your car when you lose your job, that’s really not a reason to wait.

The prize goes to those who take action. The action you need to take is to call me today at 905-208-7002