The news is very good. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, June saw a 12% increase in average selling prices compared to June, 2019. This is very good news considering our stock market was battered a few months ago, that we are in the middle of a serious recession, and continuing to deal with the aftershocks of a major international pandemic. The cause for this increase was the fact that the number of listings has declined while demand has held. This signals that supply has dried up to miniscule amounts. Home sales were at 8,701 in June, down slightly (1.4%) compared to May. June sales were up by 84% from May, a historically unprecedented figure. The average home selling price in the GTA is now $930, 869. Having hit this figure, we’ve broken the all time record of $920K set in April 2017, at the absolute height of the real estate boom.
Lisa Patel, TRREB’s President had some cautiously optimistic words: “We are still in the early days of recovery, but barring any setbacks, we should continue to see stronger market conditions in the second half of 2020 as households look to satisfy their ownership housing needs.” Market experts believe June’s strong figures show that the healthy state of demand, low inventories, and continued exceedingly low interest rates are all signs that medium to long term real estate activity will be positive. The data shows that most of the activity was in the traditional golden goose department of detached homes and townhouses, the assets that everyone is after. Detached prices rose by 14.3%, while semi-detached prices were up 22%.
Listings continue to be in relatively short supply. They were down by 53% compared to June 2019. The only modesty to be had was in the condo market, where Toronto sales fell 13.6%, with prices rising by 5.6%. The 905 saw roaring condo price growth, with 9.1% increases overall. The average sale price of a 905 condo is $528K, while the figure for Toronto is $672K. Prices for homes and condos outside of the 905 and Toronto were also almost universally healthy and well above inflation, with Halton, Peel overall, and Orangeville all seeing price growth just under 10%. Stability continues, but the supply issue remains serious.