■Condo & Rental Market Report | Q3 2018

Condo Market Report

October 18, 2018 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura announced that the average selling price for condominium apartments reported sold by Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® through TREB's MLS ® System in the third quarter of 2018 was up by 8.4 per cent year-over-year to $552,269. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Apartment Benchmark Price was up by 10.1 per cent year-over-year to $506,300 in September 2018.

The highest average condominium apartment selling price was in the City of Toronto, at $594,039. This result was up 9.7% compared to Q3 2017. The MLS® HPI Apartment Benchmark Price for the City of Toronto was up by 11.5 per cent year-over-year to $535,600 in September 2018.

"Condominium apartments represent a relatively affordable home ownership option in the Greater Toronto Area, particularly for first-time buyers. Looking forward, strong demand for condo apartments should continue as people move to the GTA to take advantage of quality job opportunities, including those jobs associated with recent investment announcements from well known tech companies," said Mr. Bhaura.

Total condominium apartment sales reported through TREB's MLS® System amounted to 5,781 in Q3 2018 – up two per cent from 5,667 sales reported in Q3 2017. Conversely the number of new listings was down 2.1 per cent on a year-over-year basis. The combination of increasing sales and decreasing new listings year-over-year points to tighter market conditions, supporting the current strong annual rates of price growth.

"Recent survey results from Ipsos revealed that the vast majority of young people in the GTA are concerned about home ownership. Nearly 92% of respondents agreed that the goal of home ownership is becoming more difficult for younger people in the city. With these insights in mind, it makes sense that relatively more affordable home ownership alternatives like condo apartments have been very popular with home buyers over the past year," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.

Rental Market Report

October 18, 2018 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® continued to report robust average annual rent increases for condominium apartments during the third quarter 2018 compared to Q3 2017. The overall number of lease transactions for condominium apartments was also up by 5.8 per cent year-over-year to 9,215 in Q3 2018.

“Sustained population growth and low unemployment continued to drive demand for condominium apartment rentals in the GTA in the third quarter. Recent major investment announcements positively impacting the GTA economy will only further cement the demand for rental housing, as people move to the GTA to take advantage of quality job opportunities,” said Mr. Bhaura. “Policy makers, including those running for election at the municipal level, need to identify and fix existing policies that are hampering the ability to bring more rental supply on line. These same policy makers also have to develop new policies that could promote the development of more rental units moving forward,” added Mr. Bhaura.

The average one bedroom condominium apartment rent increased by 9.5 per cent on a year-over-year basis to $2,163 in Q3 2018. The number of one-bedroom condominium apartments leased through TREB’s MLS® system totaled 5,344 – up 10.3 per cent compared to Q3 2017.

The average two-bedroom condominium apartment rent increased by 8.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis to $2,822 in Q3 2018. The number of two-bedroom condominium apartments leased through TREB’s MLS® System amounted to 3,289 – a 1.7 per cent decrease compared to Q3 2017.

“Average rents are continuing to increase at annual rates far beyond the rate of inflation in the GTA as rental demand remains very strong relative to the supply of units available. We will need to see a sustained period of time within which growth in the number of rental units listed outstrips growth in the number of units leased before we see the rental market return to balance. Policies like the recently expanded rent control provisions contained in the Fair Housing Plan will hinder sustained growth in the supply of rental units,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.