Financial News

The Pace of GTA Home Sales Slows in April

Products You May Like

TORONTO, May 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) set a new record for April and amounted to more than quadruple that from April 2020 – the first full month of the pandemic. Bucking the regular seasonal trend, April 2021 sales actually declined month-over-month. A similar trend was noted for the number of new listings reported.

GTA REALTORS® reported 13,663 sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in April 2021 – a 12.7 per cent decrease compared to March 2021, but more than quadruple the number of sales reported in April 2020, when the economic impact of COVID-19 was arguably the worst. Compared to the ten-year sales average of 10,000 for the April 2010 to April 2019 period, the April 2021 sales result was up by 36.6 per cent.

New listings followed a similar track – down by 8.4 per cent compared to March 2021, but more than triple the number of new listings reported in April 2020. Compared to the ten-year new listings average for the April 2010 to April 2019 period, the April 2021 new listings count was up by 18.3 per cent. 

“While sales remained very strong last month, many REALTORS® noted a marked slowing in both the number of transactions and the number of new listings. It makes sense that we had a pullback in market activity compared to March. We’ve experienced a torrid pace of home sales since the summer of 2020 while seeing little in the way of population growth. We may be starting to exhaust the pool of potential buyers within the existing GTA population. Over the long term, sustained growth in sales requires sustained growth in population,” said TRREB President Lisa Patel.

The MLS® Home Price Index Composite benchmark was up by 17.8 per cent year-over-year. The Composite benchmark also increased on a monthly basis, but the pace of monthly growth decelerated.  The average selling price of $1,090,992 was up by 33 per cent compared to April 2020, but was basically flat relative to March 2021. This was in contrast to most years in the past when the average selling price increased between March and April.

“Despite a modest slowing in market activity in April compared to March, selling prices for all major home types remained very high. Low borrowing costs during COVID-19 clearly had an impact on the demand for and price of ownership housing. While the pace of price growth could moderate in the coming months, home prices will likely continue on the upward trend. Renewed population growth over the next year coupled with a persistent lack of new inventory will underpin home price appreciation,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.

“All levels of government – most recently the federal Minister of Finance – have acknowledged that long-term housing affordability in Canada, including the GTA, will be predicated on the ability to bring more supply on line. With the federal, provincial, and municipal governments on the same page, we need to see a coordinated and collaborative effort to streamline the development approvals process to pave the way for more ownership and rental housing,” said TRREB CEO John DiMichele.

Summary of TRREB MLS® System Sales and Average Price April 1–30, 2021
2021 2020
Sales Average Price New Listings Sales Average Price New Listings
City of Toronto (“416”) 4,694 1,088,021 7,481 1,030 878,249 2,223
Rest of GTA (“905”) 8,969 1,092,547 13,344 1,927 789,212 3,957
GTA 13,663 1,090,992 20,825 2,957 820,226 6,180
colspan=”12″>TRREB MLS® System Sales & Average Price by Home Type
April 1–30, 2021
Sales Average Price
416 905 Total 416 905 Total
Detached 1.322 5.194 6.516 1,699,756 1,308,185 1,387,629
Yr./Yr. % Change 326.5% 376.1% 365.1% 36.8% 44.0% 41.3%
Semi-Detached 487 817 1.304 1,308,799 925.938 1,068,923
Yr./Yr. % Change 289.6% 316.8% 306.2% 19.6% 28.9% 23.6%
Townhouse 578 1.855 2.433 942.371 831.152 857.574
Yr./Yr. % Change 440.2% 338.5% 359.1% 20.1% 26.8% 25.9%
Condo Apartment 2.277 1.013 3.29 727.137 612.341 691.791
Yr./Yr. % Change 373.4% 450.5% 394.7% 18.7% 25.1% 19.6%
April 2021 Year-Over-Year Per Cent Change in the MLS® HPI
Composite (All Types) Single-Family Detached Single-Family Attached Townhouse Apartment
TRREB Total 17.83% 24.51% 22.99% 17.55% 4.26
Halton Region 24.45% 27.73% 28.14% 22.23% 14.99
Peel Region 17.83% 22.01% 22.32% 15.96% 5.94
City of Toronto 9.11% 18.47% 17.15% 11.28% 2.49
York Region 20.91% 24.43% 22.67% 19.52% 7.67
Durham Region 33.45% 33.74% 34.72% 34.87% 21.71
Orangeville 31.92% 31.53% 32.78%
South Simcoe County1 34.55% 28.37% 33.47%
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board  
1South Simcoe includes Adjala-Tosorontio, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Essa, Innisfil and New Tecumseth      
Year-to-Date Summary of TRREB MLS® System Sales and Average Price April 2021
2021 2020
Sales Average Price New Listings Sales Average Price New Listings
City of Toronto (“416”) 16,215 1,028,662 22,976 7,833 952,288 13,280
Rest of GTA (“905”) 30,942 1,082,916 45,180 14,807 843,763 25,800
GTA 47,157 1,064,261 68,156 22,640 881,311 39,080
YTD TRREB MLS® System Sales & Average Price by Home Type April 2021
Sales Average Price
416 905 Total 416 905 Total
Detached 4,199 17,560 21,759 1,699,554 1,310,556 1,385,624
Yr./Yr. % Change 87.1% 109.7% 104.9% 19.3% 32.7% 28.3%
Semi-Detached 1,415 2,849 4,264 1,293,197 926,595 1,048,251
Yr./Yr. % Change 128.2% 99.8% 108.4% 14.0% 24.3% 21.4%
Townhouse 1,733 6,288 8,021 923,405 835,318 854,350
Yr./Yr. % Change 115.8% 108.4% 110.0% 12.6% 22.0% 19.8%
Condo Apartment 8,756 3,940 12,696 689,300 586,395 657,365
Yr./Yr. % Change112.6%122.2%115.5%-1.1%11.2%1.8%Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate BoardSeasonally Adjusted TRREB MLS® Sales and Average Price1SalesMonth-over-Month
% Chg.
Average Price Month-over-Month
% Chg.
April ’20 2,410 -64.1% $789,620 -11.7%
May ’20 3,695 53.3% $827,396 4.8%
June ’20 6,547 77.2% $904,293 9.3%
July ’20 9,431 44.1% $952,341 5.3%
August ’20 10,535 11.7% $981,518 3.1%
September ’20 10,076 -4.4% $952,928 -2.9%
October ’20 9,773 -3.0% $957,730 0.5%
November ’20 9,409 -3.7% $966,255 0.9%
December ’20 11,305 20.2% $978,462 1.3%
January ’21 11,701 3.5% $1,008,484 3.1%
February ’21 13,339 14.0% $1,034,132 2.5%
March ’21 13,406 0.5% $1,088,801 5.3%
April ’21 10,759 -19.7 $1,049,874 -3.6%
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board; CREA Seasonal Adjustment  
1 Preliminary seasonal adjustment undertaken by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).  Removing normal seasonal variations allows for more meaningful analysis of monthly changes and underlying trends.

FOR THE FULL REPORT CLICK HERE.

Media Inquiries:
Genevieve Grant, Public Affairs Specialist ggrant@trebnet.net416-443-8159

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board with more than 59,000 residential and commercial professionals connecting people, property and communities.

www.trreb.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/trebypn/
https://twitter.com/TheReal_TRREB
https://www.youtube.com/user/TREBChannel
https://www.pinterest.com/trebhome/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/toronto-regional-real-estate-board/
https://www.trebwire.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thereal_trreb/
https://soundcloud.com/readytorealestate

Primary Logo

Products You May Like