Corinne McCabe , Broker

The real estate market remains hot! July was a record-breaking month for real estate as the GTA reported 11,081 sales - a 29.5% increase over July 2019 and a new record for the month of July. It’s hard to believe we are in a pandemic and the numbers for July are mind boggling. 
We are seeing the results of pent up activity from both buyers and sellers, that has been accumulating over that last few months. Low interest rates and limited overall supply are also increasing competition across our market. Here are some of the results for July: 

AVERAGE SALE PRICE FOR TORONTO - $1,017,320

Up 21% from $839,943 – July 2019

AVERAGE DETACHED FOR TORONTO - $1,541,003

Up 25% from $1,227,301 – July 2019

AVERAGE SEMI-DETACHED FOR TORONTO - $1,181,014

Up 20% from $981,802 -July 2019

AVERAGE CONDO PRICE TORONTO - $682,999

Up 8.8% compared to $627,927 - July2019

NEW LISTINGS - 17,956

Up 24% compared to 14,393 – July 2019

NUMBER OF SALES - 11,081

Up 29.5% compared to 8,595 – July 2019

Price growth was strongest for low-rise home types, notably within the City of Toronto. Despite more balanced market conditions in the condo market, year-over-year price growth remained in the high single digits. We also experienced stronger sales growth in the more expensive detached market sector, which helps explain why the overall average selling price was high. The real estate board has said that its original pre-Covid forecast of 10% price growth for 2020 could still be realized, but it all depends on whether we get a second wave of the virus.

The Toronto Real Estate Board released the market stats for the month of October and all we can say is we are UP! October continued the string of strong performances. Beginning in the spring the Toronto and GTA market have shown month per month growth in sales and sale prices. The average sale price for the City of Toronto is $925,498 up 6.4% from a year ago. The number of sales has also increased by 8.7%. Still the growing concern is the lack of inventory with active listings down almost 6% compared to last year resulting in tighter market conditions and accelerating price growth.

Last week in the city the freehold sector saw a 10% drop in new listings. Sales were also lower than the previous week, down 12%. We are still witnessing a bit of everything, with some listings sitting on the market, some listings selling in crazy bidding wars and scores of potential buyers cautiously waiting for the right house. Still, sentiment for home ownership remains strong as nearly 55% of home transactions in the 416 sold at or above the asking price.

The condo market did not see an increase in new listings but rather a 12% drop from the previous week, but sales were up 9%. The condo sector stats for October were also stellar. The average condo price came in at $662,631 up 9.8% from October 2018. With nearly 50% of sold units still happening at or above the list price, the condo market continues to lead the way in terms of price growth in the GTA..

With no distractions to stand in our way for at least the next month or so we should see a return to a more customary fall market. No more holidays and disruptions just a steady pace of more listings and sales to continue. With two months left in 2019 there is still plenty of transactions on the horizon and our research shows there are plenty of buyers waiting for the perfect home.

Last week freehold listings shot up 53% considering the prior three weeks were sluggish. The crowd of hopeful sellers all waited to list their properties as soon as Thanksgiving was over. Certain neighbourhoods are still crazy busy, especially Riverdale/Leslieville where “special” properties are getting snapped up in a day. We are seeing sale prices surpass the craziness of the early days of 2017. Again, with the shortage of listings we are experiencing very localized market conditions.

The condo sector held steady in terms of new resale listings as the number of available suites dropped a marginal 5% from the previous week. Sales were also down however the demand is still visible with 44% of units selling at or above the

list price. CMHC is forecasting a robust market for the next two years. Conditions in Toronto mean first-time buyers are likely to face stiffer competition for homes therefore looking for more affordable types of housing like condos. Condo prices will remain strong because they feed the demand for homebuyers but also investors buying to rent out their unit.