The Toronto Real Estate Board just released May’s Market Watch Numbers. These numbers have been heavily anticipated because there has been much uncertainty in the Toronto market since April. Everyone can tell that the market is changing but the extent of this change has yet to be measured. As a team, we have seen our buyers win offers that would have been considered low in February. We’re also seeing great listings stay on the market for a while. On the flip side, some houses are getting huge interest and still going for way over list price.

With this kind of inconsistency buyers and sellers both are wondering what to make of the Toronto market.

Here’s our take:

PRICES have remained relatively consistent. While slightly down from their peak at the beginning of 2017, annual prices gain is still strong. TREB reported that their composite benchmark price (HPI) was up by 26% since the same time last year.

LISTINGS are way up. While price continued to grow at a consistent rate, the number of listings in May was way up from this time last year. TREB reported that by the end of May the number of active listings was up by 42.9% compared to May 2016.

The upshot is that the market is not bottoming out. Hopefully, the increase in listings and the consistent pricing indicates that we are headed towards a balanced market. Time will only tell and until it does, here are some strategies to stay ahead of the game:

For Sellers: Sell first buy second. If you have a property to sell right now you have a lot of competition. When you sell try to get a long closing and then go shopping for a property.

For Buyers: Now is the time to be buying, and where possible, you will find some great houses with little or no competition. However, don’t be expecting to win with crazy low-ball offers. We’re not in a buyer’s market and if you are serious about buying a property you still need to be realistic about value.