Greater Toronto Area home sellers getting their price
September 4, 2018
This Toronto house, listed at $2.99 million, sold for $2.89 million.
- Zoocasa
The general public can now see exactly what any home sold through the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) sold for following a Supreme Court of Canada ruling. A spin through the statistics shows most vendors are getting fairly close to their listing price.
The release of sale price data in Toronto follows a court decision August 21 in favour a Competition Tribunal order that allowed publication of home sales price information. The decision forced TREB, which has been fighting against the ruling for seven years, to make the information available.
A number of real estate companies and listing services, such as Zoocasa, (www.zoocasa.com) immediately put the data online through password-protected sites. All anyone need do is register and provide a password to access the price information.
Examples of sales data a week after the decision showed a four-bedroom house in East York listed at $699,900 sold for $876,000. A high-rise one-bedroom condo on Doris Avenue was listed for $537,500 but sold for $500,000. A four-bedroom detached house in Lytton Park was listed at $1.68 million and sold for $1.64 million. Home BUILDER, in an unscientific survey of 30 recent Toronto sales found that eight sold above the asking price and three sold at the full listing price, while 19 sold for below the asking price. Of the 19 that sold for below the asking price, most sold for 10 per cent or less than the list price.
It is yet to be seen if the release of sale price information will roll out across Canada.
John Barbisan, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board said his board cooperates with the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and the Chilliwack Real Estate Board to provide Multiple Listing Service data for B.C.’s entire Lower Mainland.
He said officials at all three boards have discussed the Competition Tribunal order and will meet on the issue, but could not say if or when sale price information would be accessible to the general public. Sale prices are available to clients through their real estate agent, he said.
“There has been no public pressure here to release home sale prices,” Barbisan said.
There is speculation that prices in Metro Vancouver may be falling because of a 32 per cent plunge in home sales this year compared to the same period in 2017.
Barbisan added a key issue is striking a balance between the public’s right to know and right of an individual, in this case a home seller, to privacy.
