More vacant properties on Toronto real estate market, broker says

Asthe market has cooleddown from last year, a real estate brokersays there's an increaseinGTAhomes for sale that are sitting empty, likely due to "stubborn sellers" holding out for a return to 2017 prices.

JohnPasalis, president ofRealosophyRealty Inc., said he believes lower house prices have led to more vacant homes on the market.

Pasaliswent through the data and found that 28 per cent ofGTAproperties listed for sale are advertised on theMLSas being vacant.That number is up 17 per cent from last year, he said, adding that the actual number of vacantproperties is likely higher.

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Pasalisnoted that there will naturally always be vacant homes on the market, but thinks the recent increaseis likely due to sellers who have already moved homesbut are holding out in hopethat house prices will return to the levels seen throughout much of 2017.

"When house prices fell last year, it caught a lot of owners off guard," he said. "A lot of them are really just trying to hold out for sort of those peak prices."

But Pasalissaid they are still seeing a lot of sales, andmost sellers still have "realistic expectations" about what their properties can fetch.

"I'd still say that the majority of people are pricing based on today's prices, not last year's," saidPasalis.

In an article on the topic, he said that inventory levels in theGTAhave remained relatively balanced. He also noted that regions showing the biggest increase in vacant homes are the ones that experienced the biggest price decline in 2017.

A lot of the increase in vacant homes was in low-rise homes, he said, in the 905 region in placeslike York region, Durham andOakville.

Pasalis noted in his article that there are a "fair number" of newly built or recently renovated homes that are vacant. For a house flipper, selling at today's price would mean incurring financial loss if they were purchasedinlate 2016 or early 2017.

Market plateau, but still seller's game

The market has "pretty much plateaued" right now, said Pasalis, who added thathe hasseen a decline indemand and sales.

While the housingmarket tends to pick up in the fall, he doesn't expect a rapid spike in housing prices.

But it is still a seller's market in the GTA, he said.

The housing market tends to be slowest during the summer and winter, said real estate broker AndrewIpekian, and strongest in the fall and spring.

"In the next two weeks you're going to find the amount of listings on the market, they're going to double and triple in size," saidIpekian.

"You're going to have all kinds of choice, because all the buyers are back."

ButIpekiansaid the market is much more stable now than last year, when many homes were selling very quickly and for well over the asking price.

"It's much more sustainable now," he said.

More available pricing info

This year, buyers and sellers will also have easier access to information about selling prices, after the Supreme Court decided last week not to hear an appeal from the Toronto Real Estate Board.

TREBhad been fightingthe Competition Bureau to prevent the release ofhome sales data online, citing privacy and copyright concerns.

Pasalissaid having selling price information at their fingertips will help buyers make more informed decisions. Buyers will have a more realistic idea of what a property is worth, he said, because they can see what similar homes have sold for in the neighbourhood - they're not dependent on their agent to do that research.

He said most real estate people want their clients to have more information.

"I think that having the full transparency is terrific," saidIpekian, adding that having open information will help buyers keep realtors honest.

He said housing sales prices were already public information, but this ruling will make it more readily available.

With files from Adrian Cheung