Local realtors agree with projection of house price increases

Home prices in Toronto will rise by about 3.9 percent this year, according to a projection released by Royal LePage, and some midtown agents are saying local numbers will be at least that good, if not better.

“I think that’s a little conservative,” said Bosley Real Estate broker Patrick Rocca, who works primarily in Leaside and Davisville. “You’ve got to remember that encompasses the whole GTA, so they’re throwing in Scarborough and other areas that don’t get price jumps as much.”

Rocca said it would “not be unfathomable” to see a 5–6 percent increase in Leaside and Davisville.

The projection came from Royal LePage’s House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast, which also suggested the number of sales will increase by less than 1 percent. It was released this month.

Rocca said he generally agrees, because he doesn’t foresee much change from last year and that’s one reason why prices are going up.

“I think unit sales are still going to be lethargic because that’s what’s been driving the market — there’s no product,” he said. “That’s why we’re getting these big price leaps.

“Something comes up on the market, you get 20 people who want to jump on it.”

Royal LePage sales representative Belinda Lelli, who works primarily from Ledbury Park to Bayview Avenue and from York Mills Road to Glengrove Avenue, said her areas are also low on stock, and that mid-range homes — those priced from $600,000 to just under $1 million — are few and far between, but with a lot of buyers wanting them.

“You could have 30 people bidding on it in a week’s time because it’s an entry-level home,” she said. “The prices aren’t coming down at all.

“In this particular catchment it could even be higher, depending on the house.”

But over-rall, Lelli says, she is “in strict agreement” with the 3.9 percent projection being reflected in her areas.