Demand to likely increase by early summer 2018
Luxury homes in the Greater Toronto Area, as well as Oakville and Hamilton-Burlington, are expected to see considerable move-up activity in 2018, despite sales figures for this segment falling short of last year’s record levels.
“Sales of upper-end homes year to date are more in line with 2016 volumes rather than 2017, which should be distinguished as an outlier year for luxury real estate,” RE/MAX INTEGRA Ontario-Atlantic Region executive vice president and regional director Christopher Alexander said.
“Any comparison will fall short of 2017 levels throughout much of the spring, but demand for luxury product is likely to improve by early summer and carry through to the remainder of the year.”
The 2018 RE/MAX Luxury Property Report, which looked at trends in the GTA and the surrounding region for the first two months of the year, found that 76 freehold and condominium properties got sold over the $3-million price point in the GTA between January 1 and February 28, falling from the 180 luxury homes during the same period in 2017.
Read more: Is Toronto’s market an aberration?
Meanwhile, luxury sales in the $5-million-and-above category fell 46% to 15 transactions in the GTA, compared to 28 a year ago.
Oakville also experienced slower sales in the first two months of the year, with 6 homes selling over $3 million, compared to 15 in 2017. 59 homes sold over $1 million in Hamilton-Burlington, down from 133 last year.
Only condominium apartments and townhomes in Toronto proper defied the trend, with 8 sales over $3 million from January 1 to February 28, up from five during the same period in 2017.
The RE/MAX report added that “from the standpoint of foreign investors, the combination of a strong US dollar and undervaluation from a global perspective, Ontario is ripe for investment.”
“In fact, the GTA and the surrounding areas have stepped into the spotlight in recent years, often dominating the top positions in world rankings … and one of top 10 most innovative cities in the world by the Melbourne-based ‘Innovation Cities Index.’”
