■Condo & Rental Market Report | Q1 2016

Strong Condo Sales and Price Growth in Q1 2016

April 22, 2016 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 5,974 condominium apartment sales through TREB's MLS® System during the first quarter of 2016 – an increase of 21.2 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2015. Approximately 70 per cent (4,131 sales) of first quarter 2016 transactions occurred in the City of Toronto.

The same annual rate of growth was not experienced for new listings. There were 11,112 new condominium apartment listings entered into TREB's MLS® System in the first quarter – down 1.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2015.

"It is clear that the demand for condominium apartments more than kept up with the supply of listings in the first quarter of this year. This housing type is an important entry point into home ownership for a lot of GTA households, particularly in the City of Toronto. Recent polling undertaken for TREB by Ipsos suggested that approximately half of home purchases made in the GTA this year would be accounted for by first-time buyers," said Mr. McLean.

The average condominium apartment selling price was $393,589 in the first quarter – up 8.1 per cent compared to Q1 2015. Similarly, the MLS® Home Price Index benchmark price for apartments was up by 7.1 per cent on a year-over-year basis at the end of March.

"While the condominium apartment market segment remains the best supplied in the GTA, market conditions have tightened considerably since the first quarter of 2015. Not surprisingly, the pace of year-over-year price growth has accelerated over the same period of time," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.


Robust Average Rent Increases in Q1 2016

April 22, 2016 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced 6,458 condominium apartment rental transactions reported through TREB’s MLS® System during the first quarter of 2016. This result represented a year-over-year increase of 6.5 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2015. “It’s not just the home ownership market that is tight in the Greater Toronto Area. Demand for condominium apartment rentals remained very strong relative to available listings. As a result, strong competition between renters prompted very strong growth in average rents, particularly for the popular one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment categories,” said Mr. McLean. The average one-bedroom apartment rent was $1,662 in the first quarter – up 4.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2015. The average two bedroom rent climbed by 8.9 per cent to $2,375 on a year-over-year basis. “Even with record and near-record completions over the last few years, condominium apartment vacancy rates have remained low. Renters looking for new apartments in popular neighbourhoods are by and large pointed at investor-held condominium apartments. This is why new rental listings have been absorbed in short order and average rents have trended upwards over the past year,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.