What the 'average' T.O. house looked like, 10.09

The great Asset Bubble, part deux. We’re getting closer.

The house above in Toronto’s east end was listed recently for $299,900. Unrenovated, unfinished basement, two bedrooms, one bath, 57-foot lot, agent says it ‘needs work,’ appliances excluded. What would you pay?

More on that in a moment.

The latest stats from the local real estate board are worthy of Stockton, California or Phoenix, Ariz.  circa late 2004. Monthly sales up 64%. Average price, $423,559 – ahead 20%, year over year. Over 8,500 units changing hands. The greatest sales increase came with homes priced $750,000 and above.

“We’ve seen this resurgence for the demand of existing homes since the spring. Consumer confidence is growing more broadly …big ticket items like housing has been at the forefront of recovery,” Jason Mercer, TREB’s senior manager of market analysis, told one of the breathless and delighted dailies.

And this is taking place at a time when it appears record numbers of unemployed people are exhausting their EI benefits, when household debt in Canada has exceeded US debt for the first time, and when it takes six times the average Toronto income to buy the average home. That exceeds the pre-collapse ratio in America.

But we’re different…

Now, about this house.

There were 21 offers.

It sold for 142% of the asking price, or $426,000 – making this almost the perfect average Toronto house for October, 2009.

And let’s see what the lucky winning bidder will be moving into:

Are we there yet?

Hear Garth in Victoria
November 19. For a seat call (250) 475-3698