News

MARKET REPORT

The Toronto Real Estate Board announced 8,940 sales last month in The Greater Toronto Area, representing an 11% increase compared to March 2014. Sales were up for most major home types, both in Toronto and the surrounding regions. New listings were also up, but by a lesser 5.5%, indicating tighter market conditions. Home sales increased compared to last year and the cost of home ownership remained affordable, largely in part to the mitigating effect of lower interest rates. However for low-rise market segments, there remains a substantial amount of pent-up demand. It’s a safe bet that strong competition between buyers will continue to fuel strong price growth.

In March, the average selling price for all transactions was $613,933 – up 10% year-over-year. The MLS® HPI Composite Index, which tracks benchmark homes with the same attributes from one period to the next, was up by 7.9%. Average price growth was strongest for detached homes in Toronto, at 15.9%. Over the same period the detached MLS® HPI in the ‘416’ area code increased 7.8%.

Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis, says that “seller’s market conditions throughout the GTA are driving price growth. However, when looking at the detached market segment in the City of Toronto, growth in the average selling price outstripped growth in the MLS® HPI. This demonstrates that the mix of detached homes sales has shifted towards more expensive properties.”

CREDIT SCORES

A credit score is a number that lenders use to estimate risk. Experience has shown that borrowers with higher credit scores are less likely to default on a loan. Credit scores are generated by plugging the data from your credit report into analytical software. Credit reporting agencies do not necessarily use the same scoring software, so don’t be surprised if you discover that the credit scores they generate for you are different.
Credit scoring software only considers items on your credit report. Lenders also look at other factors left out in the report, such as income, employment history and the type of credit you are seeking.
Borrowers with good credit scores are typically offered more financing options and better interest rates, but don’t be discouraged if your scores
are lower, because there’s a mortgage product for nearly everyone. The pie chart shows a breakdown of the approximate value that each aspect of your credit report adds to a credit score calculation.



Stay tuned for more Real Estate news.