Monday, August 22, 2016

■Condo & Rental Market Report | Q2 2016

Condo Market Conditions Tighten in Q2 2016

July 21, 2016 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced another very strong quarter for condominium apartment sales in Q2 2016. Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 8,965 condo apartment sales between the beginning of April and end of June. This result represented an increase of 17.4 per cent in comparison to the same period in 2015.

"TREB REALTOR® Members are involved in all aspects of the condominium apartment market in the Greater Toronto Area, from working with buyers at the pre-construction stage of development through to the resale or rental of existing units. While we have certainly seen a lot of condo construction over the last few years, project completions have not resulted in a glut of inventory. Over the past year, we have actually experienced tighter market conditions and accelerating annual rates of price growth," said Mr. Cerqua.

The average selling price of a condominium apartment in Q2 2016 was $415,326 – up 7.1 per cent compared to Q2 2015. The MLS® Home Price Index apartment benchmark price was up by a similar 7.9 per cent at the end of June.

"Similar to the low-rise market segments, we have seen growth in condo sales outstrip growth in condo listings this year. Seller's market conditions exist for condominium apartments in many parts of the GTA including Toronto's downtown core. This is why we are seeing average price growth well-above the rate of inflation," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

■Market Watch-August, 2016

Strong July Price Growth

August 4, 2016 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that TREB REALTOR® Members reported 9,989 home sales through TREB's MLS® System in July 2016. At just shy of 10,000 transactions, this was the best result on record for the month of July.

While sales were up on a year-over-year basis, the number of new listings was down over the same period, representing the continuation of a troubling trend in the GTA. "GTA REALTORS® have been working very hard on behalf of their buyer clients to help them find a home meeting their needs. Unfortunately, listings for single-detached and semi-detached houses and townhouses continue to be in short supply. The result has been an increase in pent-up demand and annual rates of price increases well above the rate of inflation. Housing policy is now top of mind for all levels of government. Policy makers need to be focusing on solutions to the sustained lack of low-rise inventory throughout the GTA," said Mr. Cerqua.

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 16.7 per cent in July 2016 compared to the same month a year earlier. Similarly, the average selling price for all home types combined was up by 16.6 per cent year-over-year to $709,825.

"Relatively strong labour market conditions, above-inflation average income growth, and record low borrowing costs have kept many households confident about purchasing a home. As long as very strong buying intentions are up against an extreme shortage of listings, expect home price growth to greatly outpace the rate of inflation," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.