Toronto’s TheRedPin says January is one month this year that home buyers have a financial advantage in the highly competitive Greater Toronto Area housing market.
The brokerage analyzed data from over 650,000 home sales between 2010 and 2016 and found that in January, home buyers can expect to save an average of approximately $60,000 on their home price. It says prices will spike abruptly in February.
TheRedPin data says home prices surge in February by an average of $34,455, the largest month-to-month increase of the year. The second least expensive month to buy is August, when the average home price in the GTA over the seven-year research period was $529,169.
For the savvy home buyer looking for a financial edge, TheRedPin says today – Tues., Jan. 17 is the best day to buy a home in the GTA. This day was identified by evaluating MLS data and combining industry knowledge and seasonal trends, says the brokerage.
The advantages of home buying in the dead of a Toronto winter are significant, it says. Homes are cheaper than any other month of the year, properties are on the market for longer and for the first time between 2010 and 2016, they sold on average under asking last January – one per cent below the asking price was the average in January 2016, which can represent savings of
$7,000 or more based on last year’s average sale prices. Tarik Gidamy, co-founder and broker of record for TheRedPin, says this means fewer bidding wars and less mania.
“With access to more housing data, consumers are better able to make practical and often less emotional decisions about home buying and selling,” says Gidamy. “Housing inventory is low right now so it will be interesting to see if this January is any different than the trends we’ve identified over the past seven years.”
