Hey Friends!

A lot has happened for the TO group in the last month and we are so excited to share some amazing news with you!

Ford and his lovely partner, Sara welcomed their beautiful baby girl, Olivia into the world on February 17th. She is beyond precious and everyone is so happy to see their family grow (including their dog Teagan who seems to think that Olivia is her baby).

Chris and his beautiful partner, Michelle put on the biggest party of their lives on March 2nd to celebrate their marriage. If you’re trying to imagine what it was like, picture the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. Lots of people, too much food and drink, and plenty of dancing. They couldn’t be happier.

Enough about us! Let’s take a few minutes to give you another Real Estate update for March 2024.

When we first meet with potential clients, they often tell us that they have been following the real estate market via popular websites and Apps (we won’t share specific App names here!). This is always great news to us as it can be fun working with knowledgeable clients. We also believe in transparency and that everyone should have access to ample real estate data in order to help them make educated decisions, which these sources can help accomplish.

For those of you who are not familiar with these Apps, they essentially act as a property database which show a variety of sales data, including sale dates, listing and sale prices, pictures from current or previous listings, and estimated sale prices.

These are all great tools, but only when they work properly. The Estimate tools are where we would suggest you use caution, as it can often be incorrect…like, way off! We saw a home the other day where the Estimate tool valued the property at $1,075,000 and it sold on the open market at $1,431,000. We saw the house in person and it had one of those special feels to it that you can’t often quantify on a spec sheet or in a photo and we expected it to sell for what it did.

If Toronto was a place where all 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, semi-detached homes, with 1 car parking were the exact same, then the estimate tool would work quite well! The fact of the matter is that all houses in our city are different, they have different levels of finishes, different upgrades, and different feels. Not all of these things can be accurately measured by an algorithm. There is so much more data that us (real human) Realtors use when estimating values.

This is where we come in! We are immersed in the Toronto market 24/7. We are constantly viewing properties, we have our finger on the pulse of the action, we have tools for measuring bidding activity and tools that provide us with showing activity, among many other tools. Plus, we all gossip with each other about the activity we get on our listings, so we have a leg up there as well ;)

That’s the end of our rant for this month. To re-cap, we think that these Apps are a great tool if you want to check out photos of a new listing, or check out what a neighbouring home sold for, but if you want to know the TRUE value of your home, then please consult a professional (that means us).

Sales and showing activity are definitely picking up in the city of Toronto which is welcome news for most homeowners. When comparing the home values to last February, the numbers look relatively flat, however if we compare them to last month, January 2024, we see some positive increases which is a sign of buyer confidence returning to the market. For all home types in the city of Toronto, the average price increased by 11.7% comparing February to January.

The freehold market (detached/semi-detached/row houses) in the city of Toronto seems to be getting the most attention from eager home buyers with line ups at open houses, plenty of showings, and multiple offers on many properties listed for sale.

The condo market hasn’t yet seen the same activity as the freehold market, but through our experience it’s only a matter of time until the activity from the freehold market flows towards the condo market.

Check out the February year-over-year stats below for more information on the current market. If you would like statistics specific to your neighbourhood, an updated Comparative Market Analysis for your home, or help deciphering what the numbers could mean for you, please let us know and we would be happy to provide that for you.

March Break is here! Hopefully some of you are enjoying it somewhere warm with your families.

If you’ve chosen to stay in the city, here are a couple of ideas to keep you busy in case you were looking for something to do.

An East End favourite is back – the winter warming stations! Grab a coffee and go for a stroll down along the beach and check out some cool art installations to reimagine the lifeguard stations put on by the international design and art community. More info on the event can be viewed here.

A quick reminder that we still have a limited supply of tickets for the Toronto Home Show, taking place from March 8-10 & 13-17, 2024. If this is of interest, we would like to offer you the exclusive RE/MAX VIP Program at the show! Please send us a message and we’d be happy to get you some tickets.

As always, we would be happy to help you and any of your friends, family, colleagues, or neighbours with real estate services or advice. If you can think of anyone that could use our help, feel free to make an introduction! We promise we’ll make you look good ;)