As we head back to school, we will see the usual increase in home inventory. The fall market, while a busy one, is not quite as robust as the spring. Those thinking of taking advantage of this year’s market appreciation would be advised to list their homes before the snow flies in November. We may also see a pop as foreign investors start to look beyond British Columbia due to the 15% additional land transfer tax that has recently been added by the BC provincial government.
The average price of the 188 homes sold in Leaside-Bennington Heights over the past 12 months (July 2015 – July 2016) has increased by 13.5% to $1,542,789. While the average price for detached homes is now approaching the $1.7 million mark, semi-detached homes continue to hover well over $1.1 million.
During the month of July 2016, 16 homes changed hands in Leaside & Bennington Heights which was exactly the same as the year before. There were 12 detached home sales in July, representing a 140% increase from the past year’s 5 sales. The average dollar values of those July detached home transactions were up 17.7% to $1,526,958.
The value of 2016’s year-to-date 100 detached homes was up slightly by 8.6% or $1,682,024 compared to the 81 detached homes that sold in the first seven months of 2015. The 23 semi-detached homes saw a 23.5% gain in average value over the 23 semi-detached homes that traded in the first seven months of 2015.
So far this year, homes have been selling 12 percent above the listed asking price. The average size frontage of the 133 sold homes was 31 feet. The widest measure in at a very generous 53 feet and the longest was 200 feet – a ravine lot on Leacrest. As of August 15th 2016, there were 10 homes available for purchase in Leaside, down from last August’s 13 homes.
The low supply coupled with the high demand equals a positive return on your investment, whether you choose to sell or stay. Economics 101. Class dismissed.
Jethro Seymour is a broker at Johnston & Daniel. All figures are from the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service.
