When Is The Next Best Month To Put Your House In The MarKet After March?

This is an excerpt of an article I came across in the internet which I find very interesting. I'm sure a lot of  would also like to know.

August vs. September: Best time to sell?

by Jordan Maxwell22 Jul 2015                 

Many agents are strategizing with their clients who are looking to sell over the next 60 days, encouraging many to wait until September to list their homes as prices are due to rise.

“It really depends on the property type,” said Tracy An, a real estate agent with Bosley Real Estate. “For condos, they typically sell well all year no matter what time of the year but for single-family homes, I am encouraging some of my clients to wait until September when people are done with vacation and they will be more offers for sellers to consider.”

With a short amount of listings during the latter part of the summer, many agents are convincing sellers to wait as Geoffrey Grace, a real estate agent with ReMax Hallmark Realty Ltd., did when he found that the average price of a home in Toronto is five per cent higher in September than in August, according to stats he’s collected over the last four years.

“I think people just shut down,” he told the Globe and Mail in an interview. “In the fall they start to notice [the house] is a little bit too small and they’re on top of each other.”
The discovered trends are that much more interesting with the Bank of Canada lowering a key lending rate 25 basis points to 0.50 per cent.

Analysts have suggested the decision may encourage Canadians to borrow more heavily for homes and other purchases, but economists say the cut won’t ignite the housing market the way the central bank’s surprise cut in January did because many had been anticipating a further rate cut for some time.

Ralph Fox, a real estate agent with Sage Real Estate, agreed with An, saying that sellers should consider their options on a case-by-case basis. The agent himself has a property that he plans to list in September when activity will rise.

“September may be a better time for sellers’ to sell but I think that August is going to be busy from a buyer’s standpoint because of the Pan Am Games,” he said. “I think things were a lot slower than usual with the event here in Toronto so people took precautions accordingly. We’ll see a busier August than in years past because of it.”
 

Toronto Home Prices Soar- Globe and Mail article

Excerpted from The Globe and Mail

Toronto home prices soar: ‘No relief’ to meet pent-up demand Add to ...

Michael Babad

The Globe and Mail

Published Wednesday, Jun. 03 2015, 5:02 AM EDT
Last updated Wednesday, Jun. 03 2015, 11:07 AM EDT

Home prices up

Toronto home prices are surging, with no end in sight of satisfying the “pent-up demand.”
Sales in the area climbed 6.3 per cent in May to 11,706 from a year earlier, the Toronto Real Estate Board said today, while the average price for all types of homes rose 11 per cent to $649,599.
The average price for a detached home in the so-called 416 area code now tops $1.1-million, up more than 18 per cent from a year earlier, the realtors group said.
You can see what’s happening by looking at new and active listings, which fell from a year earlier by 0.8 per cent and 10.1 per cent, respectively.
“Tight market conditions, especially for singles, semis and town homes in the [Greater Toronto Area], have resulted in strong price growth regardless of the price metric being considered,” Jason Mercer, the group’s director of market analysis, said in today’s report.
“With no relief so far on the listings front, expect similar rates of price growth as we move through the remainder of 2015,” he added.
“At this point, a number of months where listings growth outstrips sales growth would be required to satisfy pent-up demand.”
Toronto and Vancouver are Canada’s two hot spots.
As The Globe and Mail’s Brent Jang reports, prices for detached homes in the Vancouver area climbed 16.3 per cent in May to more than $1.4-million.
Economists, too, see Canada’s housing markets holding up, though those in Alberta and other oil-producing regions have been hit by the slump in crude prices.
“The Bank of Canada’s decision to cut interest rates in late January led to mortgage rates being notched downward and likely contributed to the revival in activity,” Royal Bank of Canada said in a report today, referring to sales levels in March and April.
“Another annual rise in average home prices would exert pressure on affordability; however, the deterioration will likely be limited by historically low interests,” its economists said.
“In 2016, the combination of price gains and rising rates will likely put sufficient stress on affordability levels that resale activity will begin to soften.”

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House Prices in the GTA Rises 10% in April

GTA house prices up 10% in April

The average selling price, which combines all housing sectors including condos, hit $635,932.

Excerpted from The Toronto Star

SUSAN PIGG / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

The past month marked the strongest April for sales ever recorded by Toronto realtors. Some 11,303 homes changed hands across the GTA.

By: Susan Pigg Business Reporter, Published on Tue May 05 2015

   

   

The spring house-buying spree hit record levels in April, with sales up a stunning 17 per cent year over year across the GTA and prices up 10 per cent, according to figures released by the Toronto Real Estate Board Tuesday.

That sales surge resulted in the strongest April for sales ever recorded by Toronto realtors. Some 11,303 homes changed hands across the GTA.

The fact that demand remains so high in the face of limited supply – new listings were up five percent in April, but active (total) listings down more than 10 per cent over a year ago – means strong price gains are likely for the remainder of 2015, said TREB’s director of market analysis, Jason Mercer.

The average selling price, which combines all housing sectors including condos, hit $635,932, up 10 per cent in April as first-time and move-up buyers flooded open houses.

But the MLS composite benchmark price, which factors out sales at the extreme ends, was only up 8.4 per cent, signalling that the sales numbers were skewed by a higher number of high-end sales, the board noted.

Even condo buyers couldn’t get a break in April, despite the fact new units are coming on the market monthly.

The average sale price of a Toronto condo surpassed $400,000 for the first time in April, hitting an average of $407,612, up 5.8 per cent from April of 2014. Price growth was even stronger in the 905 suburbs where condo prices averaged $318,471, a 7.4 per cent increase from a year ago and far outpacing inflation and income gains.

Condo sales weren’t that far behind those of low-rise houses across the GTA, with a 16.1 per cent spike in sales. The biggest surge (up 21.5 per cent) was in the 905 region, compared to almost 14 per cent sales growth in the 416 region, according to TREB’s monthly figures.

The fact that townhouses have become the new go-to housing for those priced out of the detached market, but not keen on high-rise condo living, was reflected in the April sales figures. Sales in that sector climbed above 20 per cent, with an almost 29 per cent increase in sales in the highly sought after 416 region.

The average sale price of a townhouse was up about 10 per cent, with average prices at $551,231 in Toronto (up 10.3 per cent year over year) and $448,236 (up 9.5 per cent) in the 905 regions.

Detached home sales saw a 17 per cent spike across the GTA, with sales gains stronger (18.2 per cent) in the 905 regions than the City of Toronto (up 13.8 per cent.) The average price of a detached remained above $1 million in the 416 region, up 9.2 per cent year over year in April to $1,056,114. The average detached price was up 13.1 per cent in the 905 regions to $729,961.

Sales of semi-detached homes climbed by almost 15 per cent across the GTA and prices hit a new high of $727,875 (up 3.5 per cent) in the City of Toronto and $489,796 (up 10.5 per cent) in the 905 regions.

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CMHC Raising Mortgage Insurance Premium Effective June 1, 2015

Important information for Home Buyers with less than 10% down payment. Mortgage Insurance Premium rates will go up by June 1st for you. Read the article below for more information.

By The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is raising mortgage insurance premiums for homebuyers with less than a 10 per cent down payment by about 15 per cent, effective June 1.
Premiums for homebuyers with a down payment of 10 per cent or more and for CMHC's portfolio insurance and multi-unit insurance products are unchanged.
The changes do not apply to mortgages currently insured by CMHC.
CMHC says the increase follows an annual review of its insurance products and capital requirements.
It estimated that for the homebuyer who has less than a 10 per cent down payment and borrows $250,000, the higher premium will result in an increase of about $5.20 to the monthly mortgage payment.
The new rate for a loan-to-value ratio up to 95 per cent is 3.6 per cent, up from 3.15 per cent. For a loan-to-value ratio from 90.01 to 95 per cent, but a non-traditional down payment, the premium climbs to 3.85 per cent from 3.35 per cent.
"CMHC completed a detailed review of its mortgage loan insurance premiums and examined the performance of the various sub-segments of its portfolio," said Steven Mennill, CMHC's senior vice-president, insurance.
"The premium increase for homebuyers with less than a 10 per cent down payment reflects CMHC’s target capital requirements which were increased in mid-2014."
The federal agency is the country's largest insurer of home mortgages.
Financial institutions generally require mortgage loan insurance for buyers making a down payment of less than 20 per cent.
The insurance protects the lenders from defaults, but the costs usually are borne by the borrowers.

What The Real Estate Regulator Is Doing on Dubious Practices like Bidding Wars!

Excerpted from The Globe and Nail
Real estate regulator aims to crack down on dubious practices Add to ...

TAMSIN McMAHON - REAL ESTATE REPORTER

The Globe and Mail

Published Tuesday, Mar. 24 2015, 7:11 PM EDT
Last updated Wednesday, Mar. 25 2015, 1:21 PM EDT

With friends in the real estate industry, Jonathan James had long heard horror stories about heartbreak of bidding wars.

But it hit home a few weeks ago when Mr. James, a mobile software developer, found himself in a battle of his own with one other potential buyer for a house in Toronto. What’s more, the other offer came through the same agent who was selling the house.

 

The Globe survey saw overall price increases of about 8 per cent – but in Caribou Park they were up 58 per cent.

Mr. James ultimately won, but the process left him with lingering questions about whether there was really a second offer on the home. “My case probably was done fairly and with integrity, but I’m not sure,” he says.

“That’s a feeling that nobody should have walking away from a process like that.”

Regulators have sought to crack down on some of the industry’s shadier practices, such as fake bids from agents trying to drive up the selling price of their listing and agents who represent both buyers and sellers.

Hot markets for single-family homes in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver have sparked fierce bidding wars, with some properties seeing dozens of offers from buyers willing to pay well above the asking price.

In July, the provincial government is introducing new rules requiring selling agents to keep records on successful bids for six years and retain the details of unsuccessful bids on file for a year. It will also be illegal for agents to claim they have other bidders unless they’ve received formal offers in writing.

The changes will give the regulator more power to respond to consumer complaints about the bidding process by requiring agents to show proof of all written offers on a property. They will also crack down on phantom offers, something the council says is rare, but has generated tremendous public attention.

“The concern nowadays with the fairly hot market we’ve had for a number of years is that either people are not told they’re in competition and therefore can’t make an informed offer or perhaps they don’t know for sure how many people they’re in competition with,” said Bruce Matthews, deputy registrar of the Real Estate Council of Ontario, which regulates the province’s real estate agents.

Others are looking to go further. Having survived the real estate wars, Mr. James recently teamed up with his real estate agent, Adam Brind, software developer Herman Chan and mortgage broker Drew Donaldson to create Dealdocket, a mobile and web-based app that aims to bring more transparency to the bidding process.

“We got to a point where we got so frustrated and we thought something has to change,” says Mr. Donaldson, of Safebridge Financial Group. “There’s no transparency in the marketplace. People walk away frustrated not only that they didn’t win, but because they have no idea what actually happened.”

The group is aiming to tackle some of the more infuriating aspects of bidding wars. Much of the process is still done by fax, e-mail and in person. Selling agents often accept bids well past their stated deadline and often buyers can’t be sure exactly how many other offers there are on a property.

“Very often what happens is our clients go away from this process and they feel like they’ve had the wool pulled over their eyes,” Mr. Brind says. “It’s usually not the case, but they have no way of knowing that.”

Last year, he represented buyers who had offered just shy of $1-million for a property listed for $799,000. His clients ultimately lost the home by just $5,000 to buyers represented by an agent working in the same office as the seller’s real estate agent.

With Dealdocket, buyers can upload their offers directly to an encrypted site. Offers are time stamped and locked until after the bidding process is closed and buyers can go online to watch the bidding process unfold in real time. Bids from buyers represented by the selling agent get opened first, so that agents can’t give their clients an edge in the process.

Mr. Donaldson sees buyers shell-shocked by bidding wars almost daily. He also knows the feeling first-hand. Several years ago he bought a condo townhouse that had been on the market with no offers for nearly a month. The seller was a real estate agent. After submitting a bid he thought was fair, a competing offer suddenly emerged. Mr. Donaldson dug deep and upped his offer by $10,000.

“To this day I have no way of knowing if there ever was an actual offer on the property,” he says.