The Toronto Real Estate market had a positive start to 2024. The first month of the year saw a total of 4,223 home sales in the GTA, according to the latest data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), which is not only up significantly from the 3,444 sales that took place in December (+22.6) but is up even more compared to the 3,083 sales seen in January 2023 (+37%).
Meanwhile, the average home price dropped one per cent from the same time last year to $1,026,703, which was also a 5.4 per cent decrease from the final month of 2023.
Broken down by housing type, all but condo units actually saw their average prices increase in January, albeit by small amounts. Semi-detached homes saw a 1.8% increase, followed by detached homes with a 0.8% jump and townhouses with a 0.5% increase. The condo apartment average sale price fell by 0.6%.
This boom comes as some homebuyers started to benefit from lower borrowing costs associated with fixed-rate mortgage products. Interest rates on five-year insured fixed interest rates began slipping below 5% at a number of lenders in Ontario towards the end of December thanks to the bond yield market having cooled in the preceding month.
With the promise of rates coming down in the near future this has definitely helped buyers feel more comfortable taking action. Buyers are savvy now. They know that when things start trending down with rates, prices are going to come back up. They’re seeing this opportunity and they’re seizing it.
The Bank of Canada expects the rate of inflation to decrease as we move through the year. This would support lower interest rates which would bolster home buyers’ confidence to move back into the market. First-time buyers currently facing high average rents would benefit from lower mortgage rates, making the move to homeownership more affordable.
We’ll see more sellers enter the market aiding in new listings, but we still don’t have enough housing to meet demand. It will result in very tight market conditions as the Bank of Canada cuts rates.
Here are the top 5 trending stories of the week:
- Federal government extends foreign buyer ban on Canadian homes to 2027 | “Foreign nationals and companies will be banned from buying residential properties in Canada for an additional two years, the federal finance minister said Sunday, the latest in a raft of measures aimed at addressing housing affordability concerns that have dogged the governing Liberals for months.”
- Keller Williams agrees to pay $70 million to settle real estate agent commission lawsuits nationwide | “One of the nation’s largest real estate brokerages has agreed to pay $70 million as part of a proposed settlement to resolve more than a dozen lawsuits across the country over agent commissions..”
- Inaugural International MLS Forum unites global industry leaders to address urgent need for single data standard | “RESAAS Services Inc., a technology solutions provider to the real estate industry, reports its head of industry development, Joe Schneider, organized, hosted and moderated the inaugural International MLS Forum. A release states the event’s focus was on “the importance of a single global real estate data standard as the basis for industry innovation.” More than 100 leaders from 32 countries attended the forum, representing all areas of the global industry, including real estate broker-owners, association executives and MLS CEOs.”
- Toronto Real Estate Developers Have Never Had More Unsold Condos | “Not even record population growth was able to help new condo sales across Greater Toronto. A report from development research firm Urbanation shows new condo sales plummeted in 2023. It was the worst year for sales since the Great Recession, but that’s not all. The rush to build has left developers with the most unsold new condo inventory ever. “
- Ford government issues order that could sideline many huge Toronto developments | “The provincial government just issued an order that could throw a wrench into several plans for high-rise developments in Toronto — and it all has to do with airspace for helicopters. Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Paul Calandra, issued a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) in late January that lowers the heights of protected flight paths for air ambulances serving St. Michael’s Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children”
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