Strong Sales & Price Growth Continue into 2020
The results are in! In line with their Market Year in Review and Outlook Report forecast, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s (TRREB) February report shows strong year-over-year sales and price growth.
TRREB’s latest market report recorded 7,256 residential sales through the MLS System, an astonishing 45.6 percent increase compared to last February’s 5,025 sales, a 10-year sales low. This boost ties in with a positive increase in sales on a year-over-year basis, particularly for ground-oriented home types.
February 2020 also showed positive growth compared to January 2020, with a recorded 14.8 month-over-month percent increase in sales. However, new listings increased by a moderate 7.9 percent, which points towards a small rise in the annual growth rate and continued tight market conditions.
As predicted, sales growth continues to outpace listings growth. This leads to more competition between home buyers and an increase in February’s year-over-year price growth across the major market segments. Notably, Townhouses were up by 14.9 percent, and Condos were up by 18.6 percent. The MLS Home Price Composite Benchmark showed an increase of 10.2 percent.
Incumbent policy makers have acknowledged the GTA’s housing shortage and lack of a diverse supply of ownership and rental housing. Still, with two years until the next provincial election in June 2022, it will be interesting to note just how they intend to tackle the crisis as we move firmly into the new year.
Condos Continue to Be a Popular Choice for Home Buyers
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) and its president Michael Collins reported both strong year-over-year sales and price growth in February 2020, with 7,256 residential transactions recorded through TRREB’s MLS System.
This clocked in at a stunning 45.6 percent increase for the same period last year. However, this was still below 2017’s record-breaking 8,014 residential sales. How did the Condo market factor in these results?
Condominiums continue to be a favourite choice amongst home buyers. Still, the general positive increase in sales was bolstered by ground-oriented home types, the most popular choice being detached houses. Condo apartments came second to the 3,476 detached house sales, with a total of 1,906 recorded sales in both the 416 and 905 areas. These numbers show Condo’s had the lowest year-over-year increase amongst all housing types – 24.8 percent.
On the other hand, the steadily rising average selling price for condos showed an 18.6 year-over-year increase, tying in with a moderate 7.9 percent increase of new listings across the board. This increase indicates the GTA housing crisis is still in full effect, with accelerated price growth and constrained supply heating up competition between buyers in all major market segments.
These tight market conditions, reinforced by consistent population growth, unemployment rates, and low borrowing costs, are sure to continue into 2020 unless there is a marked increase in the number of homes available for sale.
