Despite Tough August, Oakville Real Estate Healthy
I hope everyone is getting settled back in well to life after the summer. It always flies by too quick, but the show must go on.
The same applies for real estate. August saw some rough circumstances with hurricane Irene on the east coast, and the downgrade of U.S. bonds. Losing their triple-A rating could raise borrowing costs, potentially making mortgages more expensive for consumers and adding even more stress to the unstable U.S. housing market. While this won't directly impact the housing market here in Canada, we rely heavily on the health and prosperity of the United States economy, and any bad news for them is certainly bad news for us.
Despite this, Oakville had 151 sales of homes and condos in August, which is up 29% from August of last year. In addition, the average price of real estate sold was $653,889, leading the GTA. In fact, the average price for homes and condos in Oakville in August 2011 was up 18.4% from this time last year.
While prices can't go up forever, the real estate market will continue to thrive for the rest of 2011, as the Bank of Canada announced recently that it will hold the benchmark interest rate at 1% until January. This is good news, at least in the short term, so if you were thinking about doing a real estate transaction in the near future, perhaps this fall is the best time to do it.
Thanks very much for reading. As always, if you would like to discuss your current real estate situation, I would love to offer my expert knowledge of the Oakville and Burlington markets, as well as surrounding areas. You can reach me at 905 845 9180, or by email at jamie.vieira@century21.ca. My website www.jamiesells.ca has a variety of information and tools for you to enjoy.
Sincerely,
Jamie Vieira, Sales Representative
Century 21 Miller Real Estate Brokerage Ltd.
Independently Owned and Operated
905 845 9180
jamie.vieira@century21.ca
www.jamiesells.ca
