A new study out Thursday says Toronto’s luxury sales activity makes it the second hottest market in the world.
Christie’s International real estate says sales in the so-called luxury segment of the market in Canada’s largest city were up 48 per cent from a year ago, playing it just behind Aukland, New Zealand on the list of 100 markets surveyed.
“Toronto’s turbocharged luxury market continues to be a function of fairly short supply and steadily increasing demand,” Chris Kapches, chief execute of says Chestnut Park Real Estate. “Just as we’re seeing in all other segments of the market, the number of available luxury properties is being outpaced by the numbers of buyers anxious to snap them up.”
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For the purposes of the study, the “luxury real estate” market in Toronto was defined as properties that sold for US$3 million or more which compares with a worldwide starting point of US$2.2 million.
The study says in Toronto the actual shortage of properties for sale in the city is keeping the market hot.
Toronto is not the only Canadian city to make the list as Victoria finished third for its sales activity.
Auckland activity was up 63 per cent from 2014 to 2015, giving it first place. In Victoria sales were up 45 per cent year over year.
The study also found luxury homes sold on average in 28 days, placing it number one in the world for speed of sales. The global average was 195 days on the market.
Christie’s says Canada remains an attractive country for luxury property buyers, despite rising prices.
“Strong governmental, banking and investment systems, favorable migration trends, leading educational institutions and stable employment have all caused our market to defy the decline that other marketplaces are experiencing in terms of sales volume and average prices,” said Kapches.
The report maintains that upward prices continues to force buyers into secondary markets around cities like Toronto and Vancouver.
“We’re seeing an explosion in Collingwood and Hamilton where people are purchasing homes for a third of the price in Toronto and starting businesses in retail space that is less expensive as well,” said Kapches.
gmarr@nationalpost.com
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