TORONTO CONDO MARKET UPDATE

      While much of the North American housing market has taken a hit over the last year, one market is showing promise for home buyers - the Toronto condominium market.

      While TheStar.com reports that overall Canadian starts are on the decline for their sixth straight month according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) figures, Toronto starts actually "edged up by 6 per cent to 26,700 units in February compared with the month before." They credit Toronto's housing start growth to the condo market.

     In other words, new condominiums are still being built in the Greater Toronto Area, despite the slow-down nationwide - 36,000 are set to be completed between 2009 and 2010 according to the CMHC. The boom in Toronto condominiums may be good news for home buyers.

      On top of the growth of new condos around Toronto, investors looking to buy and flip the properties are on the decline. Basically, with so much new construction, it has become more difficult to flip existing properties for a profit. Home buyers instead can find brand new condos for the same prices investors paid previously, or even for less. It's the more attractive option. This means the market for Toronto condominiums is increasingly becoming a buyer's market as the supply starts to outgrow the demand."

      Where investors may still have an edge is in the rental market. The Toronto Real Estate Board reported that in the last quarter of 2008, as people were buying fewer homes, rentals increased 30 per cent over the same period in 2007. That consisted of 3433 rentals of condominium apartments and townhouses in the Greater Toronto Area.

     If you want to know more about Toronto condo market, call Alex at (416) 723-9383.

     More real estate news here -  http://torontorealestate.wordpress.com/