March Toronto Real Estate Report

Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 9,690 sales through the TorontoMLS System in March 2012. This result was up by almost eight per cent in comparison to the 8,986 deals reported during the same period in 2011.
The market is very active right now. Affordability in my opinion is the key element which is driving the market. With interest rates at an all time low it is an ideal time to get into the market. We are experiencing a shortgage of inventory which is causing many of the listings currently on the market to sell for the asking price or more. Most of the listings which are priced well are selling in less than 10 days and for an average of 100% of asking or more. This has led to strong annual price growth well above the long-term average.
The average selling price in the GTA was $504,117 in March – up by 10.5 per cent in comparison to March 2011.
The number of new listings was up last month in comparison to March 2011. However, based on the historic relationship between price and listings, the GTA resale market should be better supplied. If competition between buyers remains as strong as it is right now, we will almost certainly see an average selling price above $500,000 for 2012 as a whole.