Toronto & GTA MLS® Home Sales - February, 2018: Sales drop; Inventory climbing

Toronto, Ontario - March 6, 2018 – the Toronto Real Estate Board today released its monthly MarketWatch publication showing that 5,175 home sales were reported in February by its member Realtors® through TREB's MLS® system. That figure represents a 34.9% drop versus February 2017. It should be noted that February 2017's 7,955 sales was a record for February. Chart - Toronto & GTA Home Sales & Average Price by Major Home Type 2018-02

The overall average selling price - including all home types and all areas - was $767,818, a 12.4% decline from last February's $876,363. All figures herein are year-over-year comparisons unless otherwise noted.

Inventory Continues to Climb

New listings entered into TREB's MLS® System totalled 10,520 on the month, a 7.3% increase from 9,801 a year ago. More importantly, the Total Active Listings figure stood at 13,362 as of the month-end. This is a 147.4% increase from the extremely tight conditions of one year ago. Chart - Toronto & GTA Home Sales Year-Over-Year Summary @ 2018-02.png

Jason Mercer, the Board’s Director of Market Analysis: “As we move further into the spring and summer months, growth in sales and selling prices is expected to pick up relative to last year. Expect stronger price growth to continue in the comparatively more affordable townhouse and condominium apartment segments. This being said, listings supply will likely remain below average in many neighbourhoods in the GTA, which, over the long-term, could further hamper affordability.”

Looking at the Specific Home Types…

Sales of detached homes took the biggest hit: in Metropolitan Toronto there were 524 Detached sales, down 33.6%, at an average selling price of $1,282,240, down 18.6%. In the balance of the GTA, 1,645 Detached sales were reported, a 43.3% drop. The average selling price for Detacheds in the balance of the GTA was $911,065, down 17.8%.

In fact, sales volume was down by similar percentages for all home types and in all of TREB’s market Chart - Toronto & GTA Home Sales Historic Annual Stats to 2018-02.png areas: Semi-Detached sales were down 28.7%; Townhome sales were down 26.8%; Condo Apartment sales were down 30.8%.

Average selling prices in February were down for all freehold home types in all areas with the exception of Townhomes in Metropolitan Toronto which were up 15.5% to $776,642. The average sale price for Townhomes in the balance of the GTA was $600,671, down 8.1%. Semi-Detached home average sale prices were down 8.6% overall. Once again, bucking the trend - and despite the downdraft in the number of sales - Condo Apartments' average sale price rose, up 10.7% in Metropolitan Toronto to $570,275; up 7.6% in the balance of the GTA to $435,216.

“When TREB released its Outlook for 2018, the forecast anticipated a slow start to the year compared to the historically high sales count reported in the winter and early spring of 2017. Prospective home buyers are still coming to terms with the psychological impact of the Fair Housing Plan, and some have also had to reevaluate their plans due to the new OFSI mandated mortgage stress test guidelines and generally higher borrowing costs,” said Tim Syrianos, TREB’s President.

TREB's "Market Year in Review & Outlook Report 2018" can be accessed as a PDF here.

Homes took "92.3% longer to sell" in February at 25 days on the market on average compared to 13 days one year ago.

Some "Context"...

Finally, just to give the numbers a little historical perspective in this aftermath of the extremes of early 2017 [and the run-up to that apparent peak], here's a snapshot of the Total Sales / Total Active Listings / Days on Market figures for this and some previous Februarys:

2018-02: 5,175 / 13,362 / 25
2017-02: 8,014 / 5,400 / 13
2016-02: 7,621 / 10,902 / 21
2015-02: 6,338 / 12,793 / 24
2014-02: 5,731 / 14,019 / 26
2013-02: 5,759 / 15,969 / 28
2008-02: 6,772 / 19,359 / 29

We'll soon see what 2018's Spring Market brings...

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