By Staff
August 30, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Rocca Sisters, who promote themselves as the #3 real estate agent in Canada, report that “The most significant news in all of our trading areas is that sales are way down. Burlington is no exception. With sales down over 17%, prices up by over 22% and days on market down by 30% Burlington can only be described as incredibly unbalanced in favour of the seller.
Courtesy Rocca Sisters – #3 Real Estate agents in Canada
They are working with “several buyers that are looking in the under $600,000 price range for a detached home and it feels like we are looking for a needle in a haystack. We don’t see this changing very much going into the fall. Ideally more sellers will look to the more affordable areas such as Stoney Creek, Grimsby, Waterdown, Ancaster and Hamilton and cash in on the unprecedented increases in values we have seen over the past year.”
Residential selling prices are at a level most analysts are saying is not sustainable – but prices have been holding for longer than most experts expected.
Upgrades being done to the mall at Appleby Line, north of Upper Middle Road.
Meanwhile upgrading of building at two malls in Burlington indicate that the commercial sector is expecting stronger demand for space. The mall in the centre – north part of the city where the CinePlex movie theatre is located is undergoing a significant change; a second level being added.
Mall where CinePlex movie theatre is located is undergoing an upgrade.
In the north western side of the city another mall is adding a level.
These properties are owned by large mall operators who have considerable depth on the market research side.
Th hole in the ground that will grow into a 22 storey condominium – described at the city’s legacy site when it was approved in 1985
That is a lot of re-bar – part of the Paradigm project on Fairview next to the Burlington GO station – project will consist of five towers when completed.
Commercially there are four large developments that are at the close to completion and just past the hole in the ground stage. The additions to the Joseph Brant Hospital are at the point where the building will be “closed in” within months; the ADI Develoment Group is adding to the height of their condominium project on Dundas at Sutton; Bridgewater, the 22 storey condominium on the south side of Lakeshore Road at Elizabeth is still at the big hole in the ground stage and the Paradigm, the Molinaro project on Fairview next to the Burlington GO station is at the fifth storey level on the west tower.
The prices aren’t going to drop folks! Like Hans said, it’s all about supply and demand. The Greenbelt has put a stop to urban sprawl, so the availability of traditional detached homes, semis and townhouses that we’ve become accustomed to is coming to an end in the GTA. Meanwhile the population continues to climb, and the demand for housing is increasing. Highrise condos cannot be built or get through the approval process fast enough in Burlington, so the supply of housing remains more or less the same. High demand + low supply = high prices. Even once highrise condos do eventually get built, there will still be a strong market for homebuyers looking to own their own piece of grass, which will keep traditional lowrise homes high in demand for a very long time, until the land value eventually surpasses the home value, and the homes get demolished and turned into highrise condos.
The only problem is that if you sell, and you still want to live in this area, you’ll be lucky to break even after having to pay similar high prices for your next home. People are realizing this, and are holding onto their homes longer, thereby reducing the supply even further. If you want “affordable housing”, you’re going to have to broaden your search well outside the GTA.
Re: “…prices are at a level most analysts are saying is not sustainable…” – isn’t that what “analysts” have been saying for at least three years? Are the “analysts” perhaps trying to influence the market with these silly comments?
Unless someone starts making more land and/or people stop moving into the GTA, “sustainable” will probably continue to be dictated simply by supply and demand, as it always has.