■This Month in Real Estate | July 2016

■Market Watch-July, 2016

Spring Market Capped Off with Strong June

July 6, 2016 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 12,794 residential transactions through TREB's MLS® System in June 2016. This result was 7.5 per cent higher than the 11,905 sales reported in June 2015. In line with the prevailing trend so far this year, the number of new listings was down by 3.8 per cent.

"As I start my term as TREB President, we are certainly in an interesting environment for ownership housing. There is no doubt that demand is at a record level, but would-be home buyers continue to face an uphill battle against a constrained supply of listings, which has perpetuated strong price growth. Buyers and sellers alike continue to benefit from the value a REALTOR® brings to a transaction," said Mr. Cerqua.

"As the federal, provincial and local levels of government discuss housing policy in the coming months, issues affecting the lack of supply in the GTA should be of paramount importance. TREB will be undertaking, and making public, results of additional research in the second half of 2016, with the goal of proactively adding to the housing policy discussion," added Mr. Cerqua.

The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark was up by 16 per cent on a year- overyear basis. The average selling price for all home types combined was up by a slightly higher annual rate of 16.8 per cent to $746,546. The single-detached, semi- detached and townhouse market segments led the way in terms of price growth.

"When TREB surveyed consumer intentions for 2016, we found that the majority of GTA households who were likely to purchase a home continued to be pointed towards some form of ground oriented housing. This is why we continue to see strong competition between buyers in many neighbourhoods where supply remains constrained," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.

■This Month in Real Estate | June 2016

■Market Watch-June, 2016

Strong Sales Growth Continues in May

June 3, 2016 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced that there were 12,870 home sales reported through TREB's MLS® System in May 2016. This result represented a new record for the month of May and a 10.6 per cent increase over the same period last year. In contrast, the number of new listings was down over the same time frame by 6.4 per cent. The decline in listings was experienced in both the low-rise and condominium apartment market segments.

"Whether we're talking about existing homeowners or people looking to purchase for the first time, there is no shortage of buyers in the marketplace today. So, while the record number of home sales through the first five months of 2016 is not necessarily surprising, it does sometimes mask the larger story in the GTA: the shortage of listings, which has resulted in strong upward pressure on home prices," said Mr. McLean.

The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark was up by 15 per cent year-over year in May 2016. Similarly, the average selling price for all home types combined was up by 15.7 per cent over the same period. Low-rise home types, which remained in short supply in many GTA neighbourhoods, experienced the strongest price growth.

"Widespread competition between buyers of singles, semis and townhouses across the GTA has underpinned the robust annual rates of price growth experienced so far this year. With this said, however, it is also important to understand that tighter market conditions for condominium apartments have resulted in price growth well above the rate of inflation in this market segment as well," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.

■This Month in Real Estate | May 2016

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■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.