The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) released its data this morning. Certainly, there are a number of things that warrant discussion: the dwindling supply, the short sales cycles and the rising prices. But one thing to remember if you are buying or selling is that the market behaves very differently depending upon the housing type and community.

Today’s headlines may say, “Prices Up 18.3%” or “Sales Fall 18%,” but these are macro-insights when, in fact, the sale or purchase of a home usually involves a micro-perspective. When buying or selling real estate in the GTA, always remember that Toronto and its surrounding areas are all about the neighbourhoods. The real estate trends that should matter most to you will be occurring in a hyper-local fashion.

Consider detached homes in Toronto. In September, they sold in 12 days at 6% over list. If you look at Leaside, however, this changes to 5 days at 12% over list. Shifting our focus to York Mills and Bayview, we see that detached homes sold in 45 days at 6% below asking price.

If we examine the sale of townhomes, in September, they sold for 10% over the list price across the TRREB region. Yet, there are pockets in Durham where the sale price of townhomes regularly exceed 20% of the listing price.

We are now in the Fall market, which is widely considered the most active and competitive real estate season in the GTA. If you are engaging in a real estate transaction, don’t worry too much about the headlines. Instead you should work with a sales professional with experience in your market, and who understands the ebbs and flows of your neighbourhood. A strategy that works in Leaside may not prove as effective in St. Andrew-Windfields.