TORONTO, Feb. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The outlook for the GTA real estate market is healthy with strong buying intentions, a near-record sales forecast of more than 100,000, and a record average selling price over $1 million.
Today, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) is unveiling its must-read Market Year in Review & Outlook 2021 Report and eagerly awaited digital digest containing TRREB’s annual market outlook, up-to-date Ipsos consumer polling results, the most recent Altus new home and commercial statistics, rental market trends, research on innovative approaches to bring on more housing supply and mortgage market trends.
“The pandemic certainly resulted in an unprecedented year for real estate in 2020, but it hasn’t put a damper on the overall demand,” said Jason Mercer, TRREB Chief Market Analyst. “Looking ahead, a strengthening economy and renewed GTA population growth following widespread vaccinations will support the continued demand for both ownership and rental housing. But over the long run, the supply of listings will remain an issue, particularly in low-rise segments.”
2021 Market Outlook
Combined home sales reported through TRREB’s MLS® System for the GTA, South Simcoe County and Orangeville are expected to reach 105,000.
Strong sales growth will be supported by continued economic recovery, including jobs and record or near-record lows for borrowing costs.
The pace of new condominium apartment listings will start to ebb, especially in the second half of the year. With low-rise listings remaining constrained, expect total new listings to come in at the 160,000 mark.
Market conditions for low-rise homes, including detached houses, will remain very tight, with sales rising at a faster pace than listings.
The overall average selling price for all home types and areas combined will eclipse the $1,000,000 mark for the first time, reaching $1,025,000 and representing a year-over-year increase of 10 per cent.
While mortgage deferrals were initially a concern early on in the pandemic, Mortgage Professionals Canada does not anticipate any pronounced uptick in mortgage delinquencies that would create systemic concerns as we move through 2021. Most property owners who took advantage of mortgage deferrals did so out of an abundance of caution rather than financial necessity and therefore have resumed their regular payments.
January 2021 Market Stats
January home sales amounted to 6,928 – up by more than 50 per cent compared to January 2020. This strong start to 2021 included sales growth across all major segments, including condominium apartments, both in the City of Toronto and surrounding GTA regions.
New listings were also up on a year-over-year basis in January, but not by the same annual rate as sales. This means market conditions tightened compared to January 2020, resulting in the continuation of double-digit growth in the MLS® Home Price Index and the average selling price.
The average selling price for January 2021 was up by 15.5 per cent to $967,885 year over year. The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark was up by 11.9 per cent over the same period.
Price growth was driven by the low-rise market segments, while the average condo apartment price was down in Toronto. However, if we continue to see condo sales growth outstrip condo listings growth, we could start to see renewed growth in condo prices later this year.
2020 Market Year in Review
2020 was a roller coaster year with unpredictable ups and downs, but the second half of 2020 was marked by consecutive monthly records for home sales and average selling prices. The end result was the third best annual sales total on record and a new record for the average selling price. The suburbs experienced the strongest sales growth, especially in single-family homes with the average selling price topping out at almost $930,000.
“Together as REALTORS®, we’ve become an essential part of the economic recovery. The results of the past year were driven by TRREB Members who act as vital instruments driving economic activity in our communities as they work on a daily basis with home buyers, home sellers, renters and business owners,” said Lisa Patel, TRREB President.
“When the pandemic hit, TRREB outlined a detailed policy brief on government economic initiatives to municipal, provincial and federal governments. With regards to housing supply, our key recommendations are to expedite the creation of missing middle housing, that is, multi-unit low-rise housing between detached and mid- to high-rises. It is crucial that we expand these development opportunities in residential areas which are currently only zoned for detached and semi-detached housing. This is why we asked Urban Strategies to research and propose innovative and workable ideas around the provision of missing middle housing across our region,” said John DiMichele, TRREB CEO.
The Potential of the Missing Middle
Currently, there is a lack of variety in housing and due to municipal zoning restrictions most of our urban areas are occupied by low density, single-family homes. Research commissioned by TRREB and conducted by Urban Strategies found that increasing the different types of housing will address the missing middle in those areas while significantly, and quickly, alleviating the tight housing supply.
“Allowing conversions of single-family houses for additional units could result in the rapid addition of 300,000–400,000 units in Toronto and would make a major contribution to addressing housing affordability. Increasing the missing middle can also stabilize the population while helping to sustain schools, social and retail amenities,” said Joe Berridge, Urban Strategies Inc. Partner.
Discover new research on much-needed missing housing, delve into the latest market insights and trends in the full report and explore the new interactive website and videos showcasing the key takeaways from this year’s report.
Summary of TRREB MLS® Sales and Average Price January 1–31, 2021
2021
2020
Sales
Average Price
New Listings
Sales
Average Price
New Listings
City of Toronto (“416”)
2,665
$866,331
3,547
1,593
$880,113
2,635
Rest of GTA (“905”)
4,263
$1,031,371
5,883
2,953
$815,416
5,213
GTA
6,928
$967,885
9,430
4,546
$838,087
7,848
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board
TRREB MLS® Sales & Average Price By Home TypeJanuary 1–31, 2021
Sales
Average Price
416
905
Total
416
905
Total
Detached
522
2,244
2,766
$1,581,400
$1,308,393
$1,359,915
Yr./Yr. % Change
30.2%
35.4%
34.4%
16.0%
36.6%
31.2%
Semi-Detached
162
344
506
$1,204,857
$898,810
$996,794
Yr./Yr. % Change
84.1%
35.4%
48.0%
21.5%
25.4%
26.6%
Townhouse
259
865
1,124
$814,396
$800,339
$803,578
Yr./Yr. % Change
46.3%
44.4%
44.8%
4.1%
20.0%
15.9%
Condo Apartment
1,703
768
2,471
$624,886
$547,488
$600,830
Yr./Yr. % Change
85.5%
85.5%
85.5%
-8.0%
4.8%
-4.7%
January 2021 Year-Over-Year Per Cent Change in the MLS® HPI
Composite (All Types)
Single-Family Detached
Single-Family Attached
Townhouse
Apartment
TRREB Total
11.94%
16.64%
15.61%
12.86%
1.70%
Halton Region
18.27%
21.78%
22.03%
16.61%
7.56%
Peel Region
12.91%
15.61%
16.40%
12.68%
4.21%
City of Toronto
4.99%
11.84%
9.59%
9.31%
0.00%
York Region
13.34%
15.20%
14.78%
10.14%
5.86%
Durham Region
24.40%
24.08%
27.59%
25.63%
14.99%
Orangeville
21.01%
20.86%
22.83%
–
–
South Simcoe County1
25.23%
25.51%
17.69%
–
–
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board
1South Simcoe includes Adjala-Tosorontio, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Essa, Innisfil and New Tecumseth
Seasonally Adjusted TRREB MLS® Sales and Average Price1
Sales
Month-over- Month % Chg.
Average Price
Month-over- Month % Chg.
January ’20
7,055
-2.4%
$874,695
-0.2%
February ’20
8,727
23.7%
$905,553
3.5%
March ’20
7,023
-19.5%
$895,785
-1.1%
April ’20
2,416
-65.6%
$791,355
-11.7%
May ’20
3,683
52.4%
$828,392
4.7%
June ’20
6,530
77.3%
$904,625
9.2%
July ’20
9,390
43.8%
$951,247
5.2%
August ’20
10,448
11.3%
$981,298
3.2%
September ’20
9,996
-4.3%
$951,864
-3.0%
October ’20
9,721
-2.8%
$956,009
0.4%
November ’20
9,308
-4.2%
$964,141
0.9%
December ’20
11,281
21.2%
$975,050
1.1%
January ’21
11,506
2.0%
$1,008,947
3.5%
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.
TRREB Annual MLS® System Statistics 2021 Sales, New Listings and Average Price Outlook
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board with more than 57,000 residential and commercial professionals connecting people, property and communities.
TORONTO – The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.
The board said 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.
“While we are still early in the Bank of Canada’s rate cutting cycle, it definitely does appear that an increasing number of buyers moved off the sidelines and back into the marketplace in October,” said TRREB president Jennifer Pearce in a news release.
“The positive affordability picture brought about by lower borrowing costs and relatively flat home prices prompted this improvement in market activity.”
The Bank of Canada has slashed its key interest rate four times since June, including a half-percentage point cut on Oct. 23. The rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from the high of five per cent that deterred many would-be buyers from the housing market.
New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.
In the City of Toronto, there were 2,509 sales last month, a 37.6 per cent jump from October 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 48.9 per cent to 4,149.
The sales uptick is encouraging, said Cameron Forbes, general manager and broker for Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc., who added the figures for October were stronger than he anticipated.
“I thought they’d be up for sure, but not necessarily that much,” said Forbes.
“Obviously, the 50 basis points was certainly a great move in the right direction. I just thought it would take more to get things going.”
He said it shows confidence in the market is returning faster than expected, especially among existing homeowners looking for a new property.
“The average consumer who’s employed and may have been able to get some increases in their wages over the last little bit to make up some ground with inflation, I think they’re confident, so they’re looking in the market.
“The conditions are nice because you’ve got a little more time, you’ve got more choice, you’ve got fewer other buyers to compete against.”
All property types saw more sales in October compared with a year ago throughout the GTA.
Townhouses led the surge with 56.8 per cent more sales, followed by detached homes at 46.6 per cent and semi-detached homes at 44 per cent. There were 33.4 per cent more condos that changed hands year-over-year.
“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for homebuyers,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.
“This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate, likely as we move through the spring of 2025.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
