TRREB says homebuyers return to the Toronto market amid a new phase of prices growth
According to Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), in March competition between buyers began to appear again as the average home price exceeded the average list price slightly for the first time since last May.
TRREB’s report says the average home price reached $1,108,606 last month following $1,096,519 seen in February.
Nevertheless, the average price was still almost 15% lower than the $1,298,666 reported in March 2022, when bidding wars caused true madness in the market.
Realtors and TRREB believe that such results mean the market is tightening following several months of a slow pace, when sales were low compared to typical years and prices began to fall amid interest rates growth.
TRREB’s numbers can prove that potential homebuyers are becoming more confident and are ready to enter the market even despite the fact that borrowing costs are going up pushed by 8 interest rate hikes over less than a year.
The report shows that March’s composite benchmark price reached $1,118,500, marking a 16.2% annual decline. However, it was still higher than in February (even on a seasonally adjusted basis).
There were 6,896 home sales last month, following 4,765 sales seen in February. At the same time, sales were still down by about 37% from 10,862 in March 2020.
According to Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, a BMO Capital Markets senior economist, the last month showed restrained home sales activity.
“We saw signs of a still ongoing bottoming process in March as market conditions tightened,” – she noted. “As the central bank is expected to keep the rate unchanged, more buyers are now beginning to enter the real estate market.”
However, sellers aren’t returning to the market as fast. Many postponed their purchases because they wanted to wait for lower prices in their areas than during the last year’s peak. As a result, new listings fell to 11,184 last month, marking a 44% annual decline.
Sales and average price by major home type
| Sales | Average Price | |||||
| 416 | 905 | Total | 416 | 905 | Total | |
| Detached | 666 | 2,334 | 3,000 | 1,708,373 | 1,400,246 | 1,468,651 |
| YoY % change | -38.7% | -37.6% | -37.8% | -10.8% | -14.3% | -13.5% |
| Semi-Detached | 202 | 354 | 556 | 1,262,629 | 988,233 | 1,087,924 |
| YoY % change | -39.0% | -45.4% | -43.2% | -18.3% | -17.6% | -17.4% |
| Townhouse | 230 | 937 | 1,167 | 973,878 | 926,237 | 935,626 |
| YoY % change | -40.1% | -35.0% | -36.1% | -12.9% | -14.2% | -14.0% |
| Condo Apt | 1,410 | 711 | 2,121 | 732,944 | 645,305 | 703,566 |
| YoY % change | -33.8% | -29.7% | -32.5% | -11.9% | -15.1% | -13.0% |
Year-over-year summary
| 2023 | 2022 | % Change | |
| Sales | 6,896 | 10,862 | -36.5% |
| New Listings | 11,184 | 20,061 | -44.3% |
| Active Listings | 10,120 | 10,157 | -0.4% |
| Average Price | 1,108,606 | 1,298,666 | -14.6% |
| Avg. LDOM | 19 | 8 | 137.5% |
| Avg. PDOM | 27 | 11 | 145.5% |