Home Sales Were Up for The Fourth Month in a Row
According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), home sales were up again year-over-year for the fourth month in a row. TRREB’s MLS system reported an astonishing 10,563 sales for October 2020, a 25.1 percent increase compared to October 2019’s 8,445 transactions.
New listings also reached record levels for the month, but it’s worth noting that year-over-year growth sales and new listings diverged depending on the market. For instance, the detached market segment displayed a pace of annual sales growth that outstripped new listings.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the condominium market experienced over double the listings of the same period last year but sales displayed a 2.2 percent year-over-year increase.
TRREB’s president Lisa Patel pointed towards tight market conditions in the wake of COVID, stating, “Competition between buyers of single-family homes, and particularly detached houses, remained strong last month and continued to support double-digit annual rates of price growth in many GTA neighbourhoods…Pre-COVID polling had already pointed to an increase in investor selling in 2020. The pandemic only added to this trend with a stall in economic growth and a halt to tourism impacting cashflows for many investors.”
While economic recovery in some sectors and low borrowing costs explains the record-breaking rate of home purchases thus far, the pent-up demand shows no signs of slowing. We can expect sales to boom for the remainder of the year.
The Condo Market Offers More Choice to Buyers
According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), home sales were up again year-over-year for the fourth month in a row. TRREB’s MLS system reported an astonishing 10,563 sales for October 2020, a 25.1 percent increase compared to October 2019’s 8,445 transactions.
New listings also reached record levels for the month, but it’s worth noting that year-over-year growth sales and new listings diverged depending on the market. The condominium market experienced over double the listings of the same period last year but sales displayed a 2.2 percent year-over-year increase.
The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark was up by 10.8 percent on a year-over-year basis. The average selling price for condos clocked in at $622,122, a 0.7 percent increase on October 2019, making this housing type the most affordable of all the market segments.
Condo buyers have benefitted from much more choice compared to last year. But the small rise in year-over-year sales points towards a change in buyer trends. In the wake of the pandemic, families may be looking for more space in less urban areas.
Overall, TRREB’s chief analyst Jason Mever forecasts more record sales to come, stating, “The economic recovery in some sectors coupled with low borrowing costs has kept home purchases top-of-mind for many GTA residents. With this being said, we have not accounted for all of the pent-up demand that resulted from the spring downturn. Expect record or near-record home sales for the remainder of 2020.”
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