December 2024 Market Report
December 2024 Newsletter
Thurston Olsen Real Estate Group
Hey Friends!
As 2024 comes to a close, we want to take a moment to say THANK YOU to each and every one of you for helping to make 2024 an incredible year in real estate for the TO Group. Your trust, support, and referrals have made all the difference, and it’s been an absolute privilege helping you and your people navigate the Toronto market.
From finding dream homes to building wealth through smart investments, we’re grateful to be part of the journey.
Here’s to an even brighter 2025—cheers to you and your families!
Now, let’s take a few minutes to give you another Real Estate update for December 2024.
Mark Your Calendars! The Bank of Canada Makes Their Next Rate Announcement on December 11th
The Bank of Canada is set to announce its final interest rate decision of the year on December 11th. This will set the tone for borrowing costs heading into 2025, with impacts on mortgage rates and affordability. Many are speculating that the overnight rate will decrease by either 0.25% or 0.5%. This will directly affect those who have or will be going for variable rate mortgages.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the fixed rates as they follow the bond yields and are not as directly related to the Bank of Canada overnight rate as the variable rates are. The election of Donald Trump in the USA will have some effect, but as long as we continue to see weaker economic information from Canada (ie. increased unemployment rates) the fixed rates have a good chance of staying low.
If you’re up for renewal in the next year or two, it never hurts to reach out to a mortgage broker to discuss options.
Need a recommendation? We have some great mortgage partners that are here to help. Just ask!
Reminder! Bold Mortgage Reforms: Making Home Ownership More Accessible in Canada
Exciting mortgage policy changes take effect on December 15th, offering new opportunities for buyers:
- 30-Year Amortizations for First-Time Buyers & New Builds: Lower monthly payments mean improved affordability, but higher overall interest costs.
- Higher Purchase Threshold for Minimal Down Payments: Buyers can now put less than 20% down on homes priced up to $1.5M (up from $1M), though carrying costs remain significant.
- Easier Lender Switching: Insured mortgage holders can renew with a different lender without a stress test, encouraging better rate competition.
These reforms aim to make buying a home easier but may also increase market competition and boost prices. We anticipate that this will have the biggest effect on homes in the $1M-$1.3M range. We see a huge opportunity for multi-unit homes where buyers can buy with less down and can supplement the higher costs of borrowing with rental income.
What We Are Seeing From the Field
The Toronto housing market is heating up as home sales surged by 39.1% year-over-year in November 2024. Buyers are jumping in, thanks to reduced borrowing costs and favorable market conditions, while new listings increased by a modest 4.2% compared to November 2023. However, this imbalance tightened market conditions, nudging the average home price up 2.8% year-over-year to $1,080,167.
Key Highlights:
- Home Sales: 2,236 homes sold in November, with single-family detached homes driving much of the price growth.
- Listings: 4,360 new listings entered the market, showcasing more opportunities for buyers.
- Condo Market: While prices remain just below last year’s levels (down 1%), ample choice gives condo buyers strong negotiating power.
What’s Ahead?
With population growth fueling housing demand and borrowing costs trending lower, experts anticipate a robust market recovery in 2025.
This upbeat market trend hints at exciting times ahead. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or invest, now’s the time to plan your next move! Let’s Chat
Shout Out To A Local Business
In The Beach – Landscape Maintenance Specialists
Getting tired of staying on top of lawn maintenance, fall clean-ups, and snow removal? For some of us, life gets busy and exterior home maintenance tends to take a back seat. Why not consider hiring a trust-worthy professional and LOCAL company to help you protect your greatest investment, your home?
Our friends at In The Beach are a friendly and professional crew that focus on quality, dependability, and respect for their clients.
Book your seasonal services now and let the pros handle the hard work while you stay cozy indoors. Contact them today to secure your spot and make sure you mention that The TO Group sent you!
Thank You for Making Our Holiday Season Food Drive a Huge Success!
(We may need a bigger truck for the next one!)
Thanks to the incredible generosity of many, our East Side Food Drive Holiday Season food drive in support of the Daily Bread Food Bank was a huge success—our most rewarding one yet!
We couldn’t have done it without you! Every donation made a real difference for families who needed it most. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed.
Let’s continue making an impact together!
As always, we’re here for any real estate services or advice you, your family, or friends might need. Whether it be next week, next month, or next year, it’s never too early to have a chat regarding real estate plans. Feel free to introduce us—we promise to make you look great! ?
Cheers!
Chris and Ford
Our Global Referral Network with RE/MAX and the TO Group
Feeling Cold and Looking for Some Sun?
Tap Into Our Global Referral Network with RE/MAX and the TO Group
Hey Friends,
We hope you’re doing well! It’s that time of the year where the cold weather has kicked in and you might be wishing you were somewhere warm right about now.
We thought this might be a good opportunity to let you know that our brokerage has just opened an office in Naples, Florida!
Imagine spending half of the year playing golf in sunny Florida, surfing in South America, or enjoying the extensive history of Europe.
You may have dreamed of owning a property outside of the GTA and you may not know where to start. We have good news – we can help!
We wanted to remind you that as part of the RE/MAX family, we have access to a vast global referral network that spans not only the GTA or Ontario, but worldwide.
Whether you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell a property, be it here in Toronto or anywhere around the globe, our referral network connects us with top agents internationally.
This means you can trust us to find the right expert, no matter where your next move or investment takes you.
If you or anyone in your circle needs real estate assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re always here to help, with the power of a trusted global network behind us!
Cheers!
Ford and Chris
JUST SOLD
186 East’s Corners Blvd
Congratulations to our seller clients who just sold their beautiful Kleinburg home in for FULL PRICE IN ONE DAY! We’re so happy for you and we’re glad that we could help you with the sale!
For more info on this recent sale, check out 186EastsCorners.com
Thinking of selling and want to know more about our listing process? Our goal is to always make the home selling experience as easy and stress-free as possible for our clients while delivering incredible results! From offering industry-leading staging and marketing services all the way through to negotiating a fantastic sale price, we’re here to help! Send us a message for more info!
April 2024 Market Report
Hey Friends!
Spring is finally back and so is Blue Jays baseball. As most of you already know, the TO Group are lifelong fans of the Jays and we spend an ample amount of our downtime watching Canada’s team. We are hopeful that they win some playoff games this season!
With that said, we have purchased tickets to a number of games this year and we wanted to try something new! So, we have a proposal for all of our loyal followers (this means you).
Any referral that you send to the TO Group that results in a successful closing will result in a pair of awesome seats to a Jays game this season*. As a bonus, you’ll get peace of mind knowing that your people will receive the best service in Real Estate ;)
Now, let’s take a few minutes to give you another Real Estate update for April 2024.
Did you know that there are homes for sale that aren’t available to the general public via MLS? These are often referred to as “Exclusive Listings” or “Pocket Listings”
An exclusive listing is when a seller enters into a listing agreement with a Brokerage but does not go to MLS. The listing remains exclusive to the listing brokerage and their agents have the exclusive opportunity to find a buyer.
You may be asking yourself “why would a homeowner want to limit the exposure of their home to the open market?” That’s a great question!
Here are a few instances where a seller may not want to expose their home to the general public:
Privacy – some sellers may not want photos of their home all over the internet for their neighbours to see and they may want to limit showings to only hand-picked, qualified buyers.
Not yet market ready – Sellers will often engage a Realtor to sell their property, but they may want to make some improvements to the home before going to MLS and they need some time to do it. Signing exclusively allows the Realtor to help the seller prepare their home for the market while being able to promote the home to their buyer clients or to other agents, so that they know that there is a great house coming to the market.
Restricted showing access – If a property is listed on MLS, it must be available to be shown to prospective buyers. If a Seller is in the middle of a renovation before selling, they may not want buyers coming through the property who may not be able to envision the finished product.
There are definitely pros and cons to exclusive listings and most of our clients choose to go to MLS to maximize exposure, however there is always a time and a place where this option can work for some of our clients.
Good News!
As a Buyer, the TO Group has access to plenty of exclusive listings throughout our brokerage, so there is always a chance that we can find your dream home before it goes on MLS
As a Seller, we have an extensive network of colleagues who work with qualified and serious buyers that may be looking for a home exactly like yours!
One of the many benefits of working with the TO Group is that we are a part of one of the largest and most well-connected real estate brokerages in Ontario.
March 2024 home sales were lower than the March 2023 result. Despite a better-supplied market compared to last year, there was enough competition between buyers to see a moderate increase in the average March home price compared to last year’s level.
Market conditions have gradually improved over the last quarter. Buyers seem to have adjusted to the higher interest rates as it has become more clear that the rates will likely not increase any further.
Homeowners who had been anticipating improved market conditions helped provide a better supply to the market in March which was welcomed by anxious buyers.
Assuming that we benefit from lower borrowing costs in the near future, we expect that sales will increase, new listings will be absorbed, and tighter market conditions will push selling prices higher.
Check out the March 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.
We are now in our 4th year of organizing our East Side Food Drive and we just wrapped up our Easter Edition which was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who contributed! This is truly one of the most gratifying events that we put on for our community and we really enjoy watching it grow. The Food Banks are having trouble keeping up with the demand this year so every effort counts!
Many people who are on variable mortgage rates or those who are approaching a mortgage renewal have been watching the Bank of Canada’s announcements on the overnight lending rate. The next announcement is on April 10th, so we are all waiting to see if they will cut the rates as many indicators are showing that inflation is under control.
Many industry professionals are expecting that the first rate cut won’t likely occur until June or July, but that the rates could fall from the current 5% down to approximately 3.75% by the end of the year. For those who have been reading our newsletters for the last year, you’ll know that when rates drop, prices tend to go up. Stay tuned!
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 ;)
Ford and Chris
*As a thank you for any referrals between April 5/24 – Sept 1/24 (excluding leases) which result in a successful purchase or sale, the TO Group would like to offer you a pair of tickets to a 2024 regular season Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre. We appreciate your support!
