TORONTO, May 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Toronto Regional Real Estate Board President Michael Collins released the following key housing market statistics for April 2020:
Home Sales and Listings
Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 2,975 residential transactions through TRREB’s MLS® System. This result was down by 67 per cent compared to April 2019. Weekday sales remained within a relatively steady range during the month, averaging 130 per day.
New listings amounted to 6,174 in April 2020 – down on a year-over-year basis by a similar rate compared to sales (-64.1 per cent).
“The necessary social distancing and economic impacts associated with COVID-19 clearly impacted home sales and listings throughout April 2020. However, REALTORS® have been able to facilitate some transactions on behalf of buyers and sellers through the use of innovative techniques including virtual open houses. TRREB has also provided a live stream virtual open house option on Member listings featured on our public websites, and I would expect the use of these innovative techniques to increase as some level of social distancing remains in place for the foreseeable future,” said Mr. Collins.
“TRREB Members should continue to follow directives and guidance being given by the government and public health agencies. TRREB’s professional development staff are continuously working to educate our Members via virtual webinars on using technology in innovative ways to conduct business virtually, including video, virtual tours and the use of electronic forms wherever possible,” said TRREB CEO John DiMichele.
Home Prices
The average selling price for April 2020 transactions was $821,392 – up by 0.1 per cent compared to the average price of $820,373 reported for April 2019. The semi-detached and townhouse market segments experienced annual average price growth above the rate of inflation. The condominium apartment and detached segments experienced year-over-year price declines on average.
The trend for the MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark, which had been on an upward trajectory since the beginning of 2019 flattened in April. On a year-over-year basis, the Benchmark was up by 10 per cent.
The MLS® HPI indices represent prices for typical homes with consistent attributes from one period to the next. The fact that the MLS® HPI was up year-over-year by a greater rate than the average selling price suggests that the share of higher end deals completed in April 2020 versus April 2019 was down.
“When thinking about home prices, it is important to remember that the pace of price growth is dictated by the relationship between sales and listings. So, while the onset of COVID-19 has understandably shifted market conditions and resulted in average selling prices coming off their March peak, there has continued to be enough active buyers relative to available listings to keep prices in line with last year’s levels,” said Jason Mercer, TRREB’s Chief Market Analyst.
Condominium Apartment Rental Market
TRREB is also providing summary condominium apartment rental market statistics for April 2020. Conditions in the GTA rental market have also changed since the first quarter of 2020.
Rental transactions reported through TRREB’s MLS® System were down on a year-over-year basis in April for both one-bedroom and two-bedroom condominium apartments.
One-bedroom condominium apartment rental transactions were down by 57.9 per cent to 754; two-bedroom rental transactions were down by 54.4 per cent to 489.
Average rents for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments were down on a year-over-year basis in April 2020 as well. The average one-bedroom rent was $2,107 – down 2.7 per cent compared to April 2019. The average two-bedroom rent was $2,705 – down 4.1 per cent compared to April 2019.
“These are unprecedented times. Past recessions and recoveries do not necessarily provide the best guide as to how the housing market will recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A key factor for the housing market recovery will be a broader reopening of the economy, which will result in an improving employment picture and a resurgence in consumer confidence. To this end, it is reassuring that the province is taking measured and carefully monitored steps towards safely opening up some parts of the economy,” said Mr. DiMichele.
Summary of TRREB MLS® Sales and Average Price – April 1 – 30, 2020
2020
2019
Sales
Average Price
New Listings
Sales
Average Price
New Listings
City of Toronto (“416”)
1,036
881,424
2,223
3,219
904,199
5,736
Rest of GTA (“905”)
1,939
789,317
3,951
5,786
773,736
11,476
GTA
2,975
821,392
6,174
9,005
820,373
17,212
TREB MLS® Sales By Home Type –April 1 – 30, 2020 – Home Type
Detached
Semi-Detached
Townhouse
Condo
Apartment
Other
Types
All Types
All Areas
Sales
1,412
324
532
667
40
2,975
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
-66.0%
-62.1%
-65.3%
-71.6%
-66.4%
-67.0%
Halton
Sales
174
20
105
36
3
338
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
-66.8%
-62.3%
-59.8%
-68.4%
-72.7%
-64.9%
Peel
Sales
237
93
116
73
1
520
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
-72.7%
-69.0%
-69.2%
-79.6%
-91.7%
-72.9%
Toronto
Sales
313
126
108
482
7
1,036
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
-67.9%
-54.8%
-68.4%
-69.9%
-63.2%
-67.8%
York
Sales
247
45
87
50
7
436
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
-68.1%
-65.9%
-71.9%
-76.6%
-79.4%
-70.2%
Durham
Sales
345
34
98
25
11
513
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
-53.1%
-51.4%
-47.6%
-53.7%
-52.2%
-52.0%
TREB MLS® Average Price By Home Type –April 1 – 30, 2020 – Home Type
Detached
Semi-Detached
Townhouse
Condo
Apartment
Other
Types
All Types
All Areas
Average Price
$983,630
$865,971
$681,393
$578,283
$649,120
$821,392
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
-3.5%
7.0%
3.8%
-1.7%
-3.6%
0.1%
Halton
Average Price
$1,064,805
$765,690
$695,854
$506,306
$835,000
$870,966
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
0.7%
10.4%
8.5%
0.1%
6.4%
1.8%
Peel
Average Price
$997,803
$745,646
$644,549
$490,118
$750,000
$802,155
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
5.1%
5.3%
4.3%
7.1%
6.2%
6.5%
Toronto
Average Price
$1,249,730
$1,096,437
$784,899
$612,300
$563,000
$881,424
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
-7.8%
4.0%
3.5%
-4.0%
-7.4%
-2.5%
York
Average Price
$1,149,487
$814,973
$783,113
$542,254
$917,843
$968,499
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
3.0%
4.4%
7.8%
1.3%
8.2%
6.1%
Durham
Average Price
$662,126
$524,441
$537,601
$364,788
$561,409
$612,563
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
-1.1%
6.1%
7.5%
-10.6%
2.8%
0.0%
April 2020 Year-Over-Year Per Cent Change in the MLS® HPI
Composite (All
Types)
Single-Family
Detached
Single-Family
Attached
Townhouse
Apartment
TRREB Total
10.22%
8.49%
9.60%
10.79%
13.21%
Halton Region
10.36%
9.65%
8.38%
12.90%
12.94%
Peel Region
12.55%
10.71%
11.86%
12.57%
17.94%
City of Toronto
10.43%
7.95%
8.24%
8.01%
12.51%
York Region
7.66%
6.55%
8.32%
6.83%
12.74%
Durham Region
9.73%
9.03%
10.63%
10.57%
14.17%
Orangeville
6.87%
6.82%
9.78%
–
–
South Simcoe County1
10.62%
13.00%
9.14%
–
–
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board
1South Simcoe includes Adjala-Tosorontio, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Essa, Innisfil and New Tecumseth
Annual Summary of TRREB MLS® Sales and Average Price
Year-to-Date
2020
2019
Sales
Average Price
New Listings
Sales
Average Price
New Listings
City of Toronto (“416”)
7,864
952,857
13,277
9,030
850,262
16,711
Rest of GTA (“905”)
14,884
843,898
25,781
16,057
758,564
33,789
GTA
22,748
881,565
39,058
25,087
791,571
50,500
Annual TRREB MLS® Sales & Average Price By Home Type – Year-to-Date 2020
Sales
Average Price
416
905
Total
416
905
Total
Detached
2,256
8,420
10,676
1,425,426
987,409
1,079,968
Yr./Yr. % Change
-7.7%
-3.7%
-4.5%
9.9%
9.2%
9.1%
Semi-Detached
624
1,440
2,064
1,136,141
745,819
863,823
Yr./Yr. % Change
-17.5%
-6.7%
-10.2%
8.6%
9.8%
8.0%
Townhouse
806
3,027
3,833
819,673
684,413
712,855
Yr./Yr. % Change
-13.7%
-8.4%
-9.5%
7.9%
11.2%
10.1%
Condo Apartment
4,130
1,781
5,911
696,983
527,307
645,859
Yr./Yr. % Change
-14.7%
-20.0%
-16.4%
13.4%
13.3%
13.8%
Apartment Type
Month/Year
Rentals
Average Rent
One-Bedroom
Apr. 2020
754
$2,107
Apr. 2019
1,790
$2,165
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
-57.9%
-2.7%
Two-Bedroom
Apr. 2020
489
$2,705
Apr. 2019
1,072
$2,821
Yr./Yr. % Chg.
-54.4%
-4.1%
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board
*Note: A broader breakout of condominium apartment and condominium townhouse rental statistics by bedroom type and TRREB areas and municipalities will continue to be provided in TRREB’s quarterly Rental Market Report.
Seasonally Adjusted TRREB MLS® Sales and Average Price1
Sales
Month-over-Month % Chg.
Average Price
Month-over-Month % Chg.
April ’19
7,078
10.2%
$787,535
0.7%
May ’19
7,356
3.9%
$802,162
1.9%
June ’19
7,513
2.1%
$812,342
1.3%
July ’19
7,884
4.9%
$824,215
1.5%
August ’19
7,989
1.3%
$825,904
0.2%
September ’19
7,993
0.1%
$837,281
1.4%
October ’19
7,840
-1.9%
$839,945
0.3%
November ’19
7,835
-0.1%
$846,374
0.8%
December ’19
7,626
-2.7%
$874,283
3.3%
January ’20
7,763
1.8%
$875,767
0.2%
February ’20
8,902
14.7%
$904,450
3.3%
March ’20
6,936
-22.1%
$894,745
-1.1%
April ’20
2,347
-66.2%
$789,274
-11.8%
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.
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board with more than 56,000 residential and commercial professionals connecting people, property and communities.
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
