Well it’s that time of year again. To be out with the old and in with the new, and that includes the Toronto real estate market. While numbers in the GTA have been climbing over the past few months – both in sales and in prices – experts have stopped looking to the year-that-was-never-supposed-to-be, and start looking towards the future; wondering what to expect. So, what do these experts have to say about what will happen to the market next year?
Prices will continue to increase
A balanced market will typically see an average price increase of seven per cent a year, but that’s been knocked off track in Toronto for the past few years. And while some analysts have predicted that prices are still set to drop by 10 to 15 per cent, they’ll continue to climb next year. The good news for those trying to get into the market is that this rise will not be near as sharp as what we’ve been seeing in the GTA. Instead, prices will only go up by 1.5 per cent.
Demographics will play a huge role in the market – but not in the way that was expected
The fact that Baby Boomers were going to be selling off their homes and rushing into small condo units was one that many stated was going to keep our market afloat. As more Boomers came out saying that they in fact, had no intent of downsizing in the future, some worried that without that demographic there to support the market, it would start to sink. Luckily, there’s another generation that’s going to be coming in to fill any gap. They are the Millenials, also known as the echo boom or the children of the Boomers. Right now they are between the ages of 20 and 36; so they’ll be soon reaching the average age of the typical Toronto buyer right now – 37.
No one knows what will happen in the spring.
This past spring was far busier than anyone thought it would be, and started at the end of January. With as many unpredictable turns the market has taken in the past two years, experts and analysts are divided when it comes to what will happen to the market come Spring 2014. Some think it will be very active, while others think it will take longer for people to get their finances back in order after Christmas. In short, no one knows what will happen.
