Toronto and GTA home sales: Hot, Hot, Hot!...

Toronto, March 3, 2016 - MLS Sales of houses and condos continued their torrid pace, setting a record in February, 2016, and continuing very strong through the middle of March… Chart - Toronto & GTA Home Sales & Average Price by Major Home Type 2016-02 ?

While houses [“low-rise market segments” in the report] were the predominant drivers of price growth, Condo Apartments saw very strong increases in sales year-over-year and good price growth for the most part.

As has been the case for some time, the only "negatives" in the report - released by the Toronto Real Estate Board - were the number of active listings, down 14.8% to 10,902 compared to one year earlier, and the number of days it took to sell a home which fell 8.7% to 21 days on average [versus 23 Days on Market, or “DOM”, one year earlier].

“Even after accounting for the leap year day, sales were above the previous record for February set back in 2010. Sales were up strongly from the 15th day of the month onward as well, despite the new federal mortgage lending guidelines coming into effect that require at least a 10 per cent down payment on the portion of purchase prices between $500,000 and $1,000,000,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean.

Detached homes in Metropolitan Toronto, or “the 416”, totalled 855 sales, up 11.8% year-over-year. In the balance of the Greater Toronto Area - "the 905" - Detached sales jumped 23.1% to 2,772 units. Average sale price in Metro Toronto for those 855 Detached homes was $1,211,459, up 16.3%, and $816,705 for the 2,772 units in the balance of the GTA, a price gain of 17.4% year-over-year. Chart - Toronto & GTA Home Sales Year-Over-Year Summary @ 2016-02.png

Total sales for all home types in the entire TREB market area were 7,621, up 21.1% compared to last February’s 6,294, at an average price of $685,278, up 14.9% from $596,320 one year earlier.

Sales of Condo Apartments rocketed ahead 25.6% in Metro Toronto to 1,439 units at an average price of $435,579 up 17.8%. In the balance of the GTA, 607 Condo Apartments sold on MLS, up 26.7% year-over-year, at an average sale price of $327,086, up 1.6%.

Obviously that tight Total Active Listings number [10,902] contributes strongly to competition amongst buyers due to lack of supply. Taking that figure and dividing it by the total monthly sales of 7,621 gives an “indicated forward inventory” of just 1.43 months: very tight by historical standards. Chart - Toronto & GTA Home Sales Historic Annual Stats to 2016-02.png

It’s interesting to note that the “forward inventory” was 2.02 months one year ago - and that was referred to in the February 2016 report as a “constrained supply of homes”.

It’s also interesting to note that, according to the Ontario Real Estate Association [OREA], the number of MLS home sales province-wide was up 15.8% to 15,680 units at an average sale price of $511,967, up 12.7% compared to February, 2015, and the first time the province-wide average price has crossed the $500,000 mark. “Forward inventory” for the entire province at the end of February stood at [43,932 active listings divided by 15,680 sales =] 2.8 months.

Nationally, sales were up 18.7% year-over-year, and the average sale price was $503,057 [+16.4%].

With statistics now out for the first couple of weeks of March, the trend appears to be continuing with sales of Detached homes up nearly 20% versus the first two weeks of March 2015, and the average price of those detached sales up 12.7% [for the whole TREB market area] to $907,687. Sales of Condo Apartments in the first half of March are up the same amount - just shy of 20% - at an overall sale price of $386,755, up 4.4%.

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