TORONTO, ONTARIO, May 3, 2017 –The Toronto Real Estate Board
has examined property assessment and land registry data in Ontario and has
concluded that foreign buyer ownership, as well as speculation by foreign and
domestic buyers and multiple ownership in the Greater Golden Horseshoe housing
market remains low. TREB is releasing their analysis of this data at the same
time as TREB President Larry Cerqua announces that Greater Toronto Area
REALTORS® entered 33.6 per cent more new listings into TREB's MLS® System in
April 2017, at 21,630, compared to the same month in 2016. New listings were up
by double-digits for all low-rise home types, including detached and semi-detached
houses and townhouses. New listings for condominium apartments were at the same
level as last year. Total sales for the TREB market area as a whole amounted to
11,630 – down 3.2 per cent year-over-year. One issue underlying this decline was
the fact that Easter fell in April in 2017 versus March in 2016, which resulted
in fewer working days this year compared to last and, historically, most sales
are entered into TREB's MLS® System on working days. "The fact that we
experienced extremely strong growth in new listings in April means that buyers
benefited from considerably more choice in the marketplace. It is too early to
tell whether the increase in new listings was simply due to households reacting
to the strong double-digit price growth reported over the past year or if some
of the increase was also a reaction to the Ontario Government's recently
announced Fair Housing Plan," said Mr. Cerqua. The MLS® Home Price Index
(HPI) Composite Benchmark Price was up by 31.7 per cent year-over-year in April
2017. Similarly, the average selling price for all home types combined was up
by 24.5 per cent to $920,791. "It was encouraging to see a very strong
year-over-year increase in new listings. If new listings growth continues to
outpace sales growth moving forward, we will start to see more balanced market
conditions. It will likely take a number of months to unwind the substantial
pent-up demand that has built over the past two years. Expect annual rates of
price growth to remain well-above the rate of inflation as we move through the
spring and summer months," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market
Analysis.
April home sales followed the regular seasonal trend with an increase relative to March. However, total residential transactions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) were down compared to the same time last year, as potential buyers continue to wait for lower borrowing costs and for certainty about the trajectory of the economy. “Following the recent federal election, many households across the GTA are closely monitoring the evolution of our trade relationship with the United States. If this relationship moves in a positive direction, we could see an uptick in transactions driven by improved consumer confidence and a market that is both more affordable and better supplied,” said TRREB President Elechia Barry-Sproule. GTA REALTORS® reported 5,601 home sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in April 2025 – down by 23.3 per cent compared to April 2024. New listings in the MLS® System amounted to 18,836– up by 8.1 per cent year-over-year. On a seasonally adjusted basis, April home sales edged up m...
Comments