MORE BALANCED MARKET POSSIBLY IN HORIZON

MORE BALANCED MARKET FOR 2012 POSSIBLY IN HORIZON

GTA REALTORS® Report Mid-Month Resale Housing Market Figures

TORONTO, February 16, 2012– Greater Toronto REALTORS®reported 3,206 sales through the TorontoMLSsystem through the first 14 days of February 2012 – up by more than nine per cent compared to the 2,933 sales reported during the same period in 2011.  New listings were up by 13 per cent over the same period.

“The GTA resale home market became better supplied during the first 14 days of February.  If growth in new listings continues to outstrip growth in sales this year, competition between home buyers will ease.  More balanced market conditions on a sustained basis would result in a lower annual rates of price growth later in 2012,” said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Richard Silver.

The average selling price during the first 14 days of February was $491,493 – up by nine per cent compared to the first 14 days of February 2011.  On average, sellers received 99 per cent of their asking price and their homes were on the market for an average of 25 days.

“Both buyers and sellers are aware of the substantial competition that exists for most listings in the GTA.  There is not a mismatch in expectations, so homes sell quickly at close to the asking price,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market  

seen will hopefully prompt more households to list, resulting in a more balanced market later this year,”

continued Mercer.