By Michael McCann
With fall came news of a slowdown in the housing market. Birch Cliff/Cliffside was not immune and in September we saw eight fewer properties sold than in August. This represents a drop of 33%. Much of this was the result of the government tightening its lending policy which came into effect in September:
- Lenders will only issue home equity loans up to a maximum of 80% of a property’s value – down from 85%
- The maximum mortgage amortization period dropped to 25 years from 30 years
- Government-backed mortgage insurance (CMHC) will only be available to homes with a purchase price of less than $1 million
Birch Cliff – Cliffside Home Sales in September 2012 – 19 homes sold
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board. Excludes commercial properties, condos and vacant land.
In August, I projected a softening of the housing market. Of the homes which sold in September, almost all sold for less than asking price, which certainly indicates the end of the sellers’ market and the beginning of a balanced one.
House prices in Birch Cliff / Cliffside are still holding their value, but be aware that multiple offer scenarios are going to be rare occurrence. The take away from this is if you are considering selling your home you’ve got to price it at fair market value, as today’s buyers will take a pass on any home with an overvalued price tag.
[tabs slidertype=”top tabs”] [tabcontainer] [tabtext]August[/tabtext] [tabtext]July[/tabtext] [tabtext]June[/tabtext] [tabtext]May[/tabtext] [tabtext]April[/tabtext] [tabtext]March[/tabtext] [/tabcontainer] [tabcontent] [tab] Birch Cliff – Cliffside Home Sales in August 2012 – 27 homes sold [/tab] [tab]Birch Cliff – Cliffside Home Sales in July 2012 – 23 homes sold [/tab] [tab]Birch Cliff – Cliffside Home Sales in June 2012 – 29 homes sold [/tab] [tab]Birch Cliff – Cliffside Home Sales in May 2012 – 28 homes sold [/tab] [tab]Birch Cliff – Cliffside Home Sales in April 2012 – 42 homes sold [/tab] [tab]Birch Cliff – Cliffside Home Sales in March 2012 – 29 homes sold [/tab] [/tabcontent] [/tabs]
According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, our local housing market is defined as Birch Cliff/Cliffside and the boundaries can be seen below.
View Birch Cliff / Cliffside in a larger map
Interesting numbers. Despite the slowdown in sales, it’s worth noting that the average sale price for a home in this area remains above half a million dollars! That’s an important benchmark. There is a lot to be said for this location and the ease of access to downtown Toronto as traffic and commuting times become worse and worse for those beyond the Toronto borders.
Toronto’s east end had an average price for September 2012 of $441,147 with the average days on market being 24 days. Parking makes a big difference which is why buyers look to Birchcliff.