In a new report, Toronto has been ranked the world’s most favored luxury real estate market.
In 2014, the Canadian city, which is the provincial capital of Ontario, was first on the luxury thermometer as the only metropolitan city to see a 37 percent increase in luxury home sales compared to just four percent in 2013.
The report, which was published by Christie’s International Real Estate, stated an extremely low supply of home in Toronto has increased the prices to $1-$2 million for an moderately average home and up to $2-$4 million for larger homes in the most sought-after neighborhood. The report also noted the scarcity of homes increased luxury condo prices above $1 million in 2014.
“2014 was the Toronto market’s second-best year on record,” reports Justine Deluce of Chestnut Park Real Estate. “If there had been more inventory, the record would easily have been shattered.”
The study also ranked the 10 metropolitan cities by the growth in sales of luxury properties and discovered the rate decelerated in Los Angeles, New York and London. It stated, “Unit sales growth in all three cities slowed to near zero compared to growth spurts of 40 percent, 22 percent, and 20 percent respectively in 2013. Inventory remains an issue across many of these markets.”
In Miami, the report also noted, sales pace decreased from 27 percent growth in 2013 to nine percent in 2014. According to Ron Shuffield of EWM Realty International, “The single-digit increases of 2014, in contrast to the double-digit increases of 2012 and 2013, reflect a return to more normal market conditions.”
Of all the cities assessed in the report, Hong Kong suffered the most. As result of the government taking measures to lessen the impact of oversea real estate investors, its luxury home sales decreased by 15 percent in 2013 and plummeted once again by another 33 percent in 2014. However, KS Koh of Landscope,Christie’s International Real Estate in Hong Kong, is hopeful that sales will begin to stabilize in 2015.
Also noted in the report is the average number of days high-end properties remained on the market. In San Francisco, homes that were on the market for $1 million-plus sold in an average of 71 days in 2014 compared to the average of 79 days in 2013.
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