The resale housing market sees record high sales in October
By Lucas on Nov 10, 2015
Last week, the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) announced its monthly resale housing figures for October 2015, announcing a record high amount of sales across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
There were 8,804 sales reported through the MLS system last month, which is the highest on record for October.
“It is clear that many GTA households remain upbeat about home ownership because owning a home represents a high quality, long-term investment. We will see a big, new record this year for home sales reported through TREB’s MLS® System,” says TREB president President, Mark McLean.
Though sales are up, there’s a pretty good chance that if a second land transfer tax is implemented, many potential homebuyers might prolong the decision to make their next purchase.
McLean explains: “Despite the record October result, I must point out that the Government of Ontario could hamper home sales in the near future. The Wynne government is seriously considering allowing municipalities throughout Ontario to institute a second land transfer tax on top of the existing provincial tax. Recent polling has shown that the great majority of Ontarians oppose this tax and would consider delaying a move if they were forced to bear the additional upfront cost.”
The overall average selling price saw a jump of 7.3%, hitting $630,876. The average selling price for a detached home in the 416 area remains over $1 million at $1,071,394. As supply decreases, demand heightens, and prices rise, it’s not surprising to see that sales of detached homes in the 416 are down 9.7% compared to October 2014.
Semi-detached homes saw the largest year-over-year change in average selling price. Sales of semis were only up about 3% across the GTA, but it’s possible that more buyers are turning to semis after being priced out of the detached market.
It looks like 2015 will be a record year for sales in the resale housing market, but what will happen if the second land transfer tax is implemented? How would the new home market be affected by the new land transfer tax?
