More Record Numbers for Toronto Real Estate
House selling prices reached record numbers in May 2021, according to the latest figures in the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s (TRREB) MLS System.
The amount of residential sales continues to be high, although numbers were slightly lower than both the record in 2016 and the peak in March this year – an unusual trend, with May usually the year’s best month for sales.
11,951 sales were reported in the Greater Toronto Area in May 2021, twice the amount from the same month in 2020 and beating the average May sales over the past decade of 10,336.
TRREB President Lisa Patel shed some light on the numbers, explaining that “there has been strong demand for ownership housing in all parts of the GTA for both ground-oriented home types and condominium apartments. This was fueled by confidence in economic recovery and low borrowing costs. However, in the absence of a normal pace of population growth, we saw a pullback in sales over the past two months relative to the March peak”.
May 2021 saw the MLS Home Price Index Composite Benchmark jump by 19 percent, with average sale prices up by 28.4 percent, hitting a new record high of $1,108,453.
When looking at the numbers based on seasonal adjustment, the average price of homes between April and May 2021 increased by 1.1 percent.
Condominium Sales Continue to Soar In May
May 2021 saw average house prices hit record amounts, with the latest figures in the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s (TRREB) MLS System also showing a higher number of sales compared to the norm.
However, they did not quite reach the 2016 record, nor the unseasonal peak from March this year. The Greater Toronto Area saw 11,951 sales in May 2021, doubling the number from May 2020 and considerably higher than the average sales in May across the past decade – 10,336.
So how did the condominium market fare?
While condominiums are also seeing an increase in selling prices due to tighter conditions in the market, they experienced a gentler increase compared to detached, semi-detached and townhouses.
Prices were up 9.1 percent year-over-year compared to the 22.6-37 percent changes across houses. In terms of sales, competition is just as high with a 170.7 percent increase in condominium sales.
Jason Mercer, the Chief Market Analyst at TRREB, had this to say on the matter: “While sales have trended off the March 2021 peak, so too have new listings. This means that people actively looking to purchase a home continue to face a lot of competition from other buyers, which results in very strong upward pressure on selling prices. This competition is becoming more widespread with tighter market conditions in the condominium apartment segment as well”.
