The Globe and Mail reports that sales of existing homes in Toronto “were down by 22 percent in the first half of September, according to figures released on September 17 by the Toronto Real Estate Board.” In what may be classed as an official ‘buyer’s market,’ working with a Toronto mortgage broker and a knowledgeable real estate professional may yield a relative bargain for purchasers as listings of existing homes balloon.
While either many prospective homebuyers are sitting on the sidelines, or the spike in home sales in the first half of 2010 exhausted demand, this does not necessarily translate to a big dip in real estate prices; meaning that this may be an opportune time for discriminating purchaser to shop around for bargains.
“Home sales are nursing a bit of a hangover from the real estate party in the first half of the year,” notes Doug Porter, the influential deputy chief economist for BMO Capital Markets. “Looking ahead,” says Mr. Porter, “sales are expected to remain on the soggy side with consumer confidence dimming, but should find support in still low rates and steady job growth.”
Sales of existing homes in Toronto during the first half of September dropped to 2,623 sales, as compared with the 3,361 sales during the same period in 2009. Toronto Real Estate Board president, Bill Johnson – echoing Mr. Porter’s comments – attributed the drop in sales to the exhaustion of the pent-up demand that drove record sales in the last half of 2009, and first half of 2010.
“Sales remain below the record pace we experienced in the second half of 2009,” notes Mr. Johnston. “The prospect of higher interest rates and new mortgage lending guidelines resulted in higher than normal sales in the first few months of the year.”
Writing for the Globe, business reporter, Tony Wong, points out that despite the dramatic drop of sales in the first weeks of September, existing home sales are still 6 percent above 2009 levels. Analysts have pointed out that this number will likely wane over the remainder of the year; however, the low mortgage rates available through Toronto mortgage brokers and the growing inventory of existing homes for sale may present a classic buying opportunity for contrarian homebuyers.
