It was still January when we put out our first Markham real estate report of 2018. We don’t regularly issue real estate ‘reports’ on the blog. But a lot happened in January to affect the local real estate market.
Average Prices Up in 2017
Despite gloomy news, statistics released in January confirmed. That average prices of homes of all types in Markham were up 12.7% at the end of 2017, versus the end of 2016.
New Mortgage Rules in Place
The Ontario Government’s new mortgage rules, including mortgage qualifying rules, took effect on January 1.
The Bank of Canada Increased Interest Rates
The BoC increased its key lending rate by .25% in mid-January, a move that puts upward pressure on the mortgage rates that homebuyers get at the bank or mortgage company.
So it was a fairly newsworthy month in January and we thought we’d keep you informed.
Why a Second Markham Real Estate Report Now?
So what’s happened to make us write our latest report? It’s not nearly as newsy here in May as it was in January. There are no new mortgage rules being introduced and the Bank of Canada isn’t expected to increase interest rates in the foreseeable future.
But saying that there’s not a lot of news might go against what you’ve been reading. The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) just released their Market Watch home sales statistics for April 2018.
The media has responded with headlines like “Toronto-area home sales in April down 32%”, which sounds very scary for homeowners. But the headline doesn’t refer to the price of homes, but the number of homes sold versus April 2017, which of course was when the numbers of homes sold were reaching new records almost every month.
The real news in the statistics released by TREB lies in the price trends so far in 2018. If you asked any homeowner or home buyer what’s happened to average Markham house prices so far in 2018, you might hear words like ‘down’ or even ‘plunging’.
While some home prices are down and some are up, for the third month in a row, the average price for homes of all types is above the average price for homes of all types reported for January 2018. In other words.
Markham House Prices are Up So Far in 2018
While prices have risen or fallen somewhat from one month to the next. Average Markham house prices are up 4.1% to $909,908 in April from $873,538 n January 2018.
That’s great news for both house sellers and home buyers. A four percent increase is a sign of stability in prices. Home sellers don’t have to worry as much about getting less for their houses. And home buyers can purchase a home confident that their investment is more likely to be stable.
We think that’s very good news and more than enough reason to put out our second Markham real estate report! If you’re buying or selling a home here in Markham, Unionville, Richmond Hill or Stouffville, get in touch with The Tar Team today.