March 2024 home sales reported through TRREB’s MLS® System were lower than the March 2023 result, due in part to spring break for the schools and the statutory holiday Good Friday falling in March this year versus April last year.
Despite a better-supplied market compared to last year, there was enough competition between buyers to see a moderate increase in the average March home price. The average selling price was up 1.3% year-over-year to $1,121,615. There were 6,560 sales in March, down by 4.5 % compared to March 2023, and new listings were up by 15% over the same period.
In the city of Toronto itself, there were 2,308 sales last month, an 8% decrease from March 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales fell 2.5% to 4,252. By property type, sales of condo apartments saw the biggest decrease throughout the GTA, with 12.8% fewer changing hands.
There were also 3% fewer detached home sales in March. Meanwhile, there were 4.3% more semi-detached home sales, followed by a 1.1% increase in townhouse sales.
There has been a steady improvement in market conditions over the past quarter. More buyers have adjusted to the higher interest rate environment. At the same time, homeowners may be anticipating an improvement in market conditions in the spring, which helps explain the marked increase in new listings so far this year.
The average selling price edged up in comparison to last year. Price growth is expected to accelerate during the spring and even more so in the second half of the year. Lower borrowing costs in the months ahead will help fuel increased demand for ownership housing,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.
Luxury home sales have seen a 14% increase in sales year-over-year in the GTA. There were 167 sales of homes worth $3 million in the first two months of the year. But it was home sales over the $5 million mark that led the way with a 77% sales increase. There were 32 sales in that price range compared to 18 properties during the same time last year. When the luxury market is healthy it’s a sign that the rest of the real estate market is in good shape.
Here are the top 5 trending stories of the week:
- Canada is building more housing than ever, but it still isn’t enough | “No issue unites Canadian voters more than the sense that housing costs in Canada have spun wildly out of control, especially for young people hoping to enter the market. They’re not wrong: in the Vancouver and Toronto markets, average home prices have soared past $1 million, and similar trajectories can be seen in less expensive cities.”
- Canada To Get First Nation-Wide Renters’ Bill Of Rights: Feds | “In Canada, when talk turns to 30-year mortgages, generally we are talking about the amortization period — that is, the length of time it would take to pay off a mortgage in full, at a given monthly payment level and current interest rates. ”
- Vintage ad of Toronto house selling for under $17,000 sparks discussion about cost of living | “The prospect of owning a home has sailed far beyond reach for many in Toronto, but there was a time in the not-too-distant past when even blue-collar single-income families could comfortably afford to purchase a house in the city. A vintage ad making the rounds on social media this month is underscoring the soaring costs of housing in today’s real estate market compared to the almost unbelievably low sticker price of a two-storey home sold in the early 1960s.”
- Canada’s housing crisis will persist on tradespeople shortage, CBRE says | “Canada doesn’t have enough skilled tradespeople to build its way out of its current housing shortage, threatening long-term damage to the country’s social fabric, according to a top executive at one of the world’s biggest real estate firms.”
- Toronto is seeing a huge uptick in ultra-rich people buying luxury homes | “While many people in Toronto are struggling to afford the monstrously inflated prices of basic groceries and rent, luxury property sales in the city (and the country at large) are somehow booming. Unfazed by the high cost of living, uber-wealthy purchasers have spawned double-digit jumps in sales activity in markets across Canada, including in the GTA, where 14.4 per cent more houses over the $3 million mark have sold so far this year compared to the same time in 2023.”
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