| Real Estate Market

The results are in and things are indeed looking up for the Greater Toronto Area’s real estate market. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) President, Lisa Patel, announced that the strong rebound initially seen in July has continued into August with a record result. 10,755 residential sales were recorded through TRREB’s MLS System, a staggering 40.3 percent year-over-year increase.

In the City of Toronto and surrounding regions, sales were also up on a year-over-year basis for all major home types. Notably the low-rise market segments, namely detached houses, semi-detached houses and townhouses, were the main drivers of the sales growth.

“Increased demand for ownership housing has been based on improving economic conditions, in terms of monthly GDP growth and job creation, and the continuation of very low borrowing costs. In addition, fewer households have chosen to go on vacation as a result of COVID-19 and instead have remained in the GTA and been active in the housing market, satisfying pent-up demand from the spring,” said Patel.

The MLS Home Price Index Composite Benchmark was up by 11.1 percent compared to August 2019. Over the same period, the average selling price increased by 20.1 percent to $951,404. New listings and active listings were also up on a year-over-year basis. On the other hand, market conditions remain very tight in the GTA resale market, with competition between buyers becoming especially strong for low-rise homes and growth in condominium apartment listings outstripping condo sales growth.

The Condo Market Shows Slow Yet Steady Growth
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s (TRREB) released the latest report for July 2020 and the results are showing a boom in sales for the Greater Toronto Area real estate community. TRREB’s MLS system recorded 11,081 sales, a remarkable 49.5 percent increase on June 2020’s sales. Compared to July 2019, sales saw a record-breaking 29.5 percent increase.

This year-over-year sales growth was driven by a deluge of low-rise home type purchases, particularly in the regions surrounding the City of Toronto. Seeing as families seemed to move out of the heart of the city after lockdown, how did the Condo market fair?

Thankfully, condominium apartment sales were also up on an annual basis, including in Toronto. Condo sales totalled 2,423 for July, a small, but significant 6.7% year-over-year increase given June’s 22.3 percent year-over-year decrease. But the condominium continues to be the least popular choice, lagging behind the detached, semi-detached and townhouse markets.

Condos had an average price of $635,778, signifying an 8.8% year-over-year increase that falls in with the general trend of tighter market conditions. “Competition between buyers continued to increase in many segments of the GTA ownership housing market in July, which fuelled a further acceleration in year-over-year price growth in July compared to June. On top of this, we also experienced stronger sales growth in the more-expensive detached market segment,” said Jason Mercer, TRREB’s Chief Market Analyst.