■This Month in Real Estate | November & December 2019

■Condo & Rental Market Report | Q3 2019

Condo Market Report

October 16, 2019 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Michael Collins announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 6,407 condominium apartment sales through TREB's MLS® System in the third quarter of 2019. This result was up by 11.1 per cent compared to Q3 2018.

New condominium apartment listings entered into TREB's MLS® System were down by one per cent compared to Q3 2018, with 9,538 listings added in 2019 compared to 9,636 listings added in 2018.

"As economic conditions continue to be favourable for job growth in the Greater Toronto Area, people have continued to come to the city for work. Home ownership is important to many Canadians, and, as a relatively affordable housing option, condos in the GTA offer prospective buyers the chance to achieve their dreams of owning property," said Mr. Collins.

The average price of a condominium apartment increased by 5.8 per cent from $552,766 in Q3 2018 to $584,564 in Q3 2019. Year-over-year price growth in the City of Toronto, which accounted for nearly 70 per cent of transactions, was slightly lower at 5.6 per cent, resulting in an average price of $628,074.

Strong price growth above the rate of inflation was driven by tightening market conditions, with sales up and listings down relative to last year. One factor underpinning the dip in listings may be the fact that, according to CMHC data, new condominium apartment completions were down year-to-date through August relative to the same time frame in 2018. This may have translated into fewer investor-owned units being listed for sale in Q3 2019 compared to Q3 2018.

"Condominium apartments are obviously a popular choice amongst first-time home-buyers. Moreover, it is also important to remember that condominium apartments owned by investors represent a huge component of the GTA rental stock and certainly account for most additions to the rental stock, on net, over the past decade. With this in mind, a well-supplied condo segment will be important moving forward to ensure that we can keep up with population growth driven by a strong and diverse regional economy," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Chief Market Analyst.

Rental Market Report

October 3, 2019 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Michael Collins announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 10,800 condominium apartment rentals through TREB’s MLS® System in the third quarter of 2019. This result was up by 17.3 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2018.

The number of condominium apartments listed for rent at some point during Q3 2019 was up by 30.1 per cent compared to Q3 2018.

“The fact that rental condominium apartment listings grew at a faster year-over-year pace compared to rental transactions suggests that the rental market has become bettersupplied over the past year. Steady condominium apartment completions coupled with strong average rent growth have prompted many investor-owners to list their units for rent. If growth in rental listings continues to outstrip growth in rental transactions for a sustained period, we could see a more balanced market in the future,” said TREB President Michael Collins.

Average condominium apartment rents were up on a year-over-year basis across all unit types. The average one-bedroom condominium apartment rent was $2,262 in Q3 2019 – up 4.5 per cent compared to Q3 2018. The average two-bedroom condominium apartment rent was up by 4.2 per cent over the same period to $2,941.

“Rental market conditions remained very tight in the GTA in the third quarter, as evidenced by average annual rent increases double the rate of inflation. With this being said, however, the pace of average rent growth has slowed noticeably over the past twelve months as we have seen an acceleration in listings. This suggests that renters are benefitting from more choice in the marketplace,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Chief Market Analyst.

■Market Watch | November, 2019

GTA REALTORS® Release October 2019 Stats

November 5, 2019 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Michael Collins announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 8,491 residential sales through TREB's MLS® System in October 2019. This result represented a 14 per cent increase compared to 7,448 sales reported in October 2018. GTA-wide, sales were up on a year-over-year basis for all major home types.

The trend of annual growth in sales versus annual decline in new listings continued in October 2019, with new listings down by 9.6 per cent compared to October 2018. The resulting tighter market conditions compared to a year ago resulted in positive annual rates of price growth across all major market segments, from a GTA-wide perspective.

The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark was up by 5.8 per cent on a year-over-year basis in October 2019 – the strongest annual rate of growth since December 2017. The average selling price for all home types combined was up by 5.5 per cent to $852,142, compared to $807,538 in October 2018.

"As market conditions in the GTA have steadily tightened throughout 2019, we have seen an acceleration in the annual rate of price growth. While the current pace of price growth remains moderate, we will likely see stronger price growth moving forward if sales growth continues to outpace listings growth, leading to more competition between home buyers," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Chief Market Analyst.