Wednesday, June 2, 2021 / by Sushma Khinvasara
Home Sales in Toronto up by 362% since last April, signs of cooling down month-over-month
Image credit to the owner
Do you remember how the housing market was a year ago? It was the first full month of the COVID-19 pandemic and the number of properties sold suffered terribly at just 2,957. Sales for April this year showed remarkable recovery as it increased by 362% with 13,663 homes sold. However, if we compare April sales to the first three months of the year marked by intense market of soaring prices, limited supplies and bidding wars, Toronto's raging house market showed its first signs of cooling down in the month of April.
Do you remember how the housing market was a year ago? It was the first full month of the COVID-19 pandemic and the number of properties sold suffered terribly at just 2,957. Sales for April this year showed remarkable recovery as it increased by 362% with 13,663 homes sold. However, if we compare April sales to the first three months of the year marked by intense market of soaring prices, limited supplies and bidding wars, Toronto's raging house market showed its first signs of cooling down in the month of April.
Home sales in April dropped by 19.7% compared to previous month's record of 13,406. The same goes for the average selling price with a slight decline of 3.6% from last month's 1.08 million. Total number of new listings reported soared up to 237% in a year-over-year basis, but decreased on month-over-month.
According to TRREB President Lisa Patel, "It makes sense that we had a pullback in market activity compared to March. We've experienced a torrid pace of home sales since the summer of 2020 while seeing little in the way of population growth. We may be starting to exhaust the pool of potential buyers within the existing GTA population. Over the long term, sustained growth in sales requires sustained growth in population".
Despite this slowing down in the market, it can be expected that home price appreciation for major home types will continue its upward trend as low borrowing costs continue to attract buyers while supplies remain limited. Adding to that, GTA anticipates a renewed population growth over the next year.
Let us take a look now at the numbers presented by TRREB in their latest April 2021 statistical update for GTA.
Source: TRREB May 4, 2021
Residential Statistics
Year-over-year Total Residential Transactions
April 2020 - 2,957
April 2021 - 13,663
There is an incredible increase of 362.1% in sales compared to last year. However, there was a significant decline recorded in April 2021 sales result over March 2021.
March 2021 - 13,406
April 2021 - 10,759
There was a decrease of 19.7% in sales compared the previous month.
The number of home sales in April 2021 increased by a breakthrough record of 362.1% on a year-over-year basis, and a decrease of 19.7% from last month.
The average selling price of homes continues to rise steadily.
April 2020 - $ 820,226
April 2021 - $ 1,090,992
There is a 33% increase in selling price compared to last year.
A downward trend is observed in the average selling price compared to the previous month.
March 2021 -$ 1,088, 801
April 2021 - $ 1,049, 874
There is a decrease of 3.6% in selling price compared the previous month.
Total New Listings added to the Market
April 2020 - 6,180
April 2021 - 20,825
The number of new listings jumped to a record high of 237% in a year-over-year basis.
The April 2021 % Sales-to-New Listings Ratio of 66% increased by 18% compared to 48% of April last year.
Condominium Sales Statistics
Year-over-year Total Condo Apartment Sales
Q1/20 -5,226
Q1/21- 9,398
There is an increase of 79.8% in condo sales compared the previous year. However, the average selling price for condos has a slight drop.
Q1/20 - $ 654,570
Q1/21- $ 645,219
There is a decrease of 1.4% compared the previous year.
Here is the summary of the listings of condominiums
Year-over-year Total New Listings
Q1/20 - 7,964
Q1/21- 11,373
There is an increase of 42.8% compared the previous year.
Townhouse Sales
From May 1 to May 29, there are a total of 940 sales in townhouses, an increase of 176% compared to last year. There are 1,022 new listings, up by 188% from last year. For the average selling price, a 1 Bd Townhouse can cost up to $769,000 which is 35% higher compared to the same month of last year. On the other hand, a 2 Bd Townhouse cost $911,000 which is an increase of 13% compared to the previous year.
As a summary, home sales in April showed its first signs of slowing down as the housing market starts to exhaust the pool of potential buyers in the region's limited population. It is likely though that home prices will keep its upward trend driven by increased demand due to low borrowing costs and also the anticipated increase of population by immigration over the next year.
If you have any question about Toronto housing market or need help buying your new home, contact me at 647-834-9928 or send an email to sukhinvasara@gmail.com
