TORONTO, May 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) set a new record for April and amounted to more than quadruple that from April 2020 – the first full month of the pandemic. Bucking the regular seasonal trend, April 2021 sales actually declined month-over-month. A similar trend was noted for the number of new listings reported.
GTA REALTORS® reported 13,663 sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in April 2021 – a 12.7 per cent decrease compared to March 2021, but more than quadruple the number of sales reported in April 2020, when the economic impact of COVID-19 was arguably the worst. Compared to the ten-year sales average of 10,000 for the April 2010 to April 2019 period, the April 2021 sales result was up by 36.6 per cent.
New listings followed a similar track – down by 8.4 per cent compared to March 2021, but more than triple the number of new listings reported in April 2020. Compared to the ten-year new listings average for the April 2010 to April 2019 period, the April 2021 new listings count was up by 18.3 per cent.
“While sales remained very strong last month, many REALTORS® noted a marked slowing in both the number of transactions and the number of new listings. 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,” said TRREB President Lisa Patel.
The MLS® Home Price Index Composite benchmark was up by 17.8 per cent year-over-year. The Composite benchmark also increased on a monthly basis, but the pace of monthly growth decelerated. The average selling price of $1,090,992 was up by 33 per cent compared to April 2020, but was basically flat relative to March 2021. This was in contrast to most years in the past when the average selling price increased between March and April.
“Despite a modest slowing in market activity in April compared to March, selling prices for all major home types remained very high. Low borrowing costs during COVID-19 clearly had an impact on the demand for and price of ownership housing. While the pace of price growth could moderate in the coming months, home prices will likely continue on the upward trend. Renewed population growth over the next year coupled with a persistent lack of new inventory will underpin home price appreciation,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.
“All levels of government – most recently the federal Minister of Finance – have acknowledged that long-term housing affordability in Canada, including the GTA, will be predicated on the ability to bring more supply on line. With the federal, provincial, and municipal governments on the same page, we need to see a coordinated and collaborative effort to streamline the development approvals process to pave the way for more ownership and rental housing,” said TRREB CEO John DiMichele.
| Summary of TRREB MLS® System Sales and Average Price April 1–30, 2021 | ||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| Sales | Average Price | New Listings | Sales | Average Price | New Listings | |
| City of Toronto ("416") | 4,694 | 1,088,021 | 7,481 | 1,030 | 878,249 | 2,223 |
| Rest of GTA ("905") | 8,969 | 1,092,547 | 13,344 | 1,927 | 789,212 | 3,957 |
| GTA | 13,663 | 1,090,992 | 20,825 | 2,957 | 820,226 | 6,180 |
| TRREB MLS® System Sales & Average Price by Home Type April 1–30, 2021 | |||||||||||
| Sales | Average Price | ||||||||||
| 416 | 905 | Total | 416 | 905 | Total | ||||||
| Detached | 1.322 | 5.194 | 6.516 | 1,699,756 | 1,308,185 | 1,387,629 | |||||
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 326.5% | 376.1% | 365.1% | 36.8% | 44.0% | 41.3% | |||||
| Semi-Detached | 487 | 817 | 1.304 | 1,308,799 | 925.938 | 1,068,923 | |||||
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 289.6% | 316.8% | 306.2% | 19.6% | 28.9% | 23.6% | |||||
| Townhouse | 578 | 1.855 | 2.433 | 942.371 | 831.152 | 857.574 | |||||
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 440.2% | 338.5% | 359.1% | 20.1% | 26.8% | 25.9% | |||||
| Condo Apartment | 2.277 | 1.013 | 3.29 | 727.137 | 612.341 | 691.791 | |||||
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 373.4% | 450.5% | 394.7% | 18.7% | 25.1% | 19.6% | |||||
| April 2021 Year-Over-Year Per Cent Change in the MLS® HPI | |||||||||||
| Composite (All Types) | Single-Family Detached | Single-Family Attached | Townhouse | Apartment | |||||||
| TRREB Total | 17.83% | 24.51% | 22.99% | 17.55% | 4.26 | ||||||
| Halton Region | 24.45% | 27.73% | 28.14% | 22.23% | 14.99 | ||||||
| Peel Region | 17.83% | 22.01% | 22.32% | 15.96% | 5.94 | ||||||
| City of Toronto | 9.11% | 18.47% | 17.15% | 11.28% | 2.49 | ||||||
| York Region | 20.91% | 24.43% | 22.67% | 19.52% | 7.67 | ||||||
| Durham Region | 33.45% | 33.74% | 34.72% | 34.87% | 21.71 | ||||||
| Orangeville | 31.92% | 31.53% | 32.78% | - | - | ||||||
| South Simcoe County1 | 34.55% | 28.37% | 33.47% | - | - | ||||||
| Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board | |||||||||||
| 1South Simcoe includes Adjala-Tosorontio, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Essa, Innisfil and New Tecumseth | |||||||||||
| Year-to-Date Summary of TRREB MLS® System Sales and Average Price April 2021 | ||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| Sales | Average Price | New Listings | Sales | Average Price | New Listings | |
| City of Toronto ("416") | 16,215 | 1,028,662 | 22,976 | 7,833 | 952,288 | 13,280 |
| Rest of GTA ("905") | 30,942 | 1,082,916 | 45,180 | 14,807 | 843,763 | 25,800 |
| GTA | 47,157 | 1,064,261 | 68,156 | 22,640 | 881,311 | 39,080 |
| YTD TRREB MLS® System Sales & Average Price by Home Type April 2021 | ||||||
| Sales | Average Price | |||||
| 416 | 905 | Total | 416 | 905 | Total | |
| Detached | 4,199 | 17,560 | 21,759 | 1,699,554 | 1,310,556 | 1,385,624 |
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 87.1% | 109.7% | 104.9% | 19.3% | 32.7% | 28.3% |
| Semi-Detached | 1,415 | 2,849 | 4,264 | 1,293,197 | 926,595 | 1,048,251 |
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 128.2% | 99.8% | 108.4% | 14.0% | 24.3% | 21.4% |
| Townhouse | 1,733 | 6,288 | 8,021 | 923,405 | 835,318 | 854,350 |
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 115.8% | 108.4% | 110.0% | 12.6% | 22.0% | 19.8% |
| Condo Apartment | 8,756 | 3,940 | 12,696 | 689,300 | 586,395 | 657,365 |
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 112.6% | 122.2% | 115.5% | -1.1% | 11.2% | 1.8% |
| Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board | ||||||
| Seasonally Adjusted TRREB MLS® Sales and Average Price1 | |||||
| Sales | Month-over-Month % Chg. | Average Price | Month-over-Month % Chg. | ||
| April '20 | 2,410 | -64.1% | $789,620 | -11.7% | |
| May '20 | 3,695 | 53.3% | $827,396 | 4.8% | |
| June '20 | 6,547 | 77.2% | $904,293 | 9.3% | |
| July '20 | 9,431 | 44.1% | $952,341 | 5.3% | |
| August '20 | 10,535 | 11.7% | $981,518 | 3.1% | |
| September '20 | 10,076 | -4.4% | $952,928 | -2.9% | |
| October '20 | 9,773 | -3.0% | $957,730 | 0.5% | |
| November '20 | 9,409 | -3.7% | $966,255 | 0.9% | |
| December '20 | 11,305 | 20.2% | $978,462 | 1.3% | |
| January '21 | 11,701 | 3.5% | $1,008,484 | 3.1% | |
| February '21 | 13,339 | 14.0% | $1,034,132 | 2.5% | |
| March '21 | 13,406 | 0.5% | $1,088,801 | 5.3% | |
| April '21 | 10,759 | -19.7 | $1,049,874 | -3.6% | |
| Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board; CREA Seasonal Adjustment | |||||
| 1 Preliminary seasonal adjustment undertaken by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Removing normal seasonal variations allows for more meaningful analysis of monthly changes and underlying trends. | |||||
FOR THE FULL REPORT CLICK HERE.
Media Inquiries:
Genevieve Grant, Public Affairs Specialist ggrant@trebnet.net 416-443-8159
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board with more than 59,000 residential and commercial professionals connecting people, property and communities.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/trebypn/
https://twitter.com/TheReal_TRREB
https://www.youtube.com/user/TREBChannel
https://www.pinterest.com/trebhome/
http://www.linkedin.com/company/toronto-regional-real-estate-board/
http://www.trebwire.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thereal_trreb/
https://soundcloud.com/readytorealestate