Now is a great time to sell your home in Toronto and Vancouver

If you are thinking about selling your home in Toronto or Vancouver, 2014 is the perfect time to sell.

Act now because pundits and banks are all predicting prices to start dropping in 2015.

The real estate boards of Toronto and Vancouver are reporting year-over-year price increases of between two and twelve per cent for January 2014.

In Toronto, the average selling price for a home in January was $526,528 – up by more than 9% from a year earlier.

January property prices

Property type	Toronto	Vancouver	Change 2013-2014 Toronto / Vancouver
All residential	$526,528	$606,800	9.2%	3.2%
Detached	$686,688	$929,700	12%	3.2%
Apartment/Condo	$346,369	$371,500	8.7%	3.7%
Semi-detached*	$481,970	$457,700*	6.6%	1.7%*
Townhouse	$346,369	$457,700*	9.0%	1.7%*
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver *Vancouver does not separate townhouses and semi-detached homes and uses the designation 'attached properties.'

In Vancouver, the benchmark price for all residential properties rose 3.2 per cent since January 2013 to $606,800. Detached homes in Vancouver were selling for $929,700 on average last month, a 3.2 per cent increase over the previous year. Apartment and condo properties averaged $371,500, a 3.7 per cent increase over January 2013.

Sales of residential properties in Greater Vancouver were up by over 30% over January 2013 although not as strong as in December 2013, which saw sales rise 7.2 per cent above the 10-year average for the month.

There were 5,345 new listings for Vancouver on the MLS listing service last month, a 4.2 per cent increase over the same time last year - suggesting that homeowners who are looking to sell have realized now is the right time to cash in.

Toronto's market saw fewer new listings in January than last year, with 8,822 properties in the Greater Toronto Area listed on MLS, down 16.6 per cent. Sales were down 2.2 per cent over January 2013, but prices are still rising regardless of the lower volume of sales in all categories.

Detached homes in Toronto were selling for 12 per cent more than in January 2013 while the sale prices of condominium apartments were up 9.7 per cent and semi-detached homes saw a 6.6 per cent increase.

CONCLUSIONS

If you want to sell, now is a great time.

If you are looking to buy, you would be better off waiting until 2016 when the bubble has already burst and prices have dropped back down to more reasonable levels.