(Ontario Real Estate Source)
By Brian Madigan LL.B.
The sales in the GTA for single family homes were quite predictable in January 2011.
Usually, January 2011 is compared to January 2010. But, actually the true measure should be the month of January in the last few years.
Let's see how many homes have sold in the month of January since 2004:
2004..........4,256
2005..........4,153
2006..........4,587
2007..........5,173
2008..........5,075
2009..........2,670
2010..........4,986
2011..........4,337
The average number of sales is 4,405. So, January 2011 is 1.54% less than the average over the last eight years. Actually, that's 37 transactions, slightly more than one per day.
If you choose to go back two years, the average of 2009 and 2010 was 3,828. January 2011 shows a 13.09% increase over those combined numbers, which represents about 577 transactions. However, you must recall that January 2009 was quite sluggish. The economy was in full recession and the auto bailout was still months away.
If you look at 2011, you will see that three Januarys were worse and four Januarys were better over the last eight years. So, all in all, the January 2011 sales figures fall right in the middle, just shy of the average.
And, remember, for real estate, average, steady performance is good. This is optimistic for February and the Spring market to follow.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker is an author and commentator on real estate matters, if you are interested in residential or commercial properties in Mississauga, Toronto or the GTA, you may contact him through Royal LePage Innovators Realty, Brokerage 905-796-8888
www.OntarioRealEstateSource.com
