Written by Omid Jalili
Granted there’s been a few warning shots fired over the bow of the real estate market that might cause some people to keep an eye on Toronto mortgage rates and prices in anticipation of the ship taking on water, but overall it looks like those people are overacting. At least for now.
Consider the latest news from TREB if you’re one of those that needs a little reassurance. Their most recent newsletter reports the first two weeks in January had 1,469 sales through the Toronto MLS system and that represents an increase of 2.4 per cent over the same time last year. Now while this is generally goods news, there is at least one mitigating factor for Mortgage brokers Toronto like us that are keeping an eye out for the immediate future and just beyond.
That’s the old engine that drives all markets—supply and demand. All the optimists are looking toward the good start that brought in this year continuing on, but there needs to be some mention of the supply side increasing here and what that could do to demand. Remember, while prices have held their own and even climbed recently, sales have been leveling off and that means buyers are having more choice to look through. The end result is the average selling price is expected to keep on growing but slow eventually as the entire market adjusts.
Moving through the first quarter of this year will be interesting. There’s no doubt that the stricter lending guidelines that were brought in earlier had an effect on some people’s buying or selling decisions. It won’t be too much longer before the market sees if these sideliners plan on getting back into the game. That’s one of the reasons we’re here as your Mortgage brokers Toronto, to always be aware of the factors affecting our client’s best interests.
