Attendance: 12 in person (11 members, one guest) Guest: Melissa Fraser, guest of Barry Smith

 

Chair: President Courtney

 

Anthem: Barry Smith

 

Toast to King, Canada, and Rotary by President Courtney

 

 

 

 

 

Our very own Saifoo presented a well-researched slide presentation on the history of the Toronto Real Estate market. Saifoo has been in the real estate industry since 1994, when he left banking in Hong Kong to emigrate to Canada.

 

Saifoo began his presentation with a historical view of real estate prices in Toronto from 1986 onward. At the height of the 80's boom, before the market collapsed in 1989, the average cost of a house rose to $273,698. During the '90s the market was slow, but from 2008 to 2016, prices rose again to an average price of $379,000. A year later, in 2017, the prices rose in January to $768,000 and in February to $876,640. This trend continued into and through the pandemic, with annual average home prices as follows:

            2018 - $  787,300

            2019 - $  929,617

            2021 - $1,095,419.

Prices hit a peak in May 2022 of $1,212,808 and by September had pulled back to $1,086,762.

 

Saifoo provided several reasons for the dramatic rise in prices, the single greatest factor being supply and demand. Low supply has fed the market, but other factors were the record low interest rates until recently. Other factors have been estate sales and retirees moving out of the city.

 

The number of real estate agents in Toronto is now 69,000, as this is a bustling industry. There were 4,961 sales in October 2022 with an average price of $1,089,428, there were 10,390 new listings, and the average time on the market was 21 days.

 

Saifoo also touched on new rentals that have increased in rental prices since March 2022 by 9.2%. Gerd pointed out that 80% of rentals in Toronto are existing rental units with a zero increase.

 

Saifoo gave examples of the costs involved in purchasing in Toronto in the current marketplace, including Toronto's double land transfer tax and the increasing mortgage rates. Saifoo then fielded questions before concluding his presentation.

 

Frank Allison thanked Saifoo for a very interesting and informative presentation.

 

Frank levied fines and Happy Bucks, including:

 

Frank conducted a Brain Teaser Quiz asking for the capital cities of certain countries. Those who couldn't successfully name the capitals paid up, but Gerd and Arthur had perfect scores.

 

Gerd contributed a Happy Buck for his recent trip to Germany.

 

Danny was proud to report that a furnace that he installed had lasted 30 years.

 

Arthur was happy that his sister was selected to be in the 100 top art painters in the U.S.  

 

Saifoo was happy to greet his family coming to him from Ottawa because he gets lost every time he visits them.