May 2021 – Home sales go down in Toronto, while prices keep growing
The new report by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) shows that a strong pace of home sales we’ve seen at the beginning of 2021 keeps slowing down. TREB says sales fell by 13% in May compared to April.
According to the Ontario board, there were 11,951 home sales in the area last month, which is less than 13,663 seen in April, but more than 4,594 reported a year earlier, when the pandemic started.
The average sales number for May during the period from 2010 to 2019 is 10,336, and May is usually the most active month in a year. However, TREB says 2021 has changed the trend.
“We’ve seen a strong demand for homeownership in all regions of the GTA supported by confidence in economic recovery and low borrowing costs,” – noted TREB president Lisa Patel.
“Nevertheless, the absence of a normal pace of population growth has led to a slowdown in sales during the previous two months compared to strong March numbers”.
March showed sales reaching a record high level of 15,652, which is 97% higher than 7,945 reported in 2020, when the health crisis was just picking up speed.
It turned out COVID-19 can’t restrain Toronto’s real estate market for long, as it kept showing higher prices and bidding wars even when lockdowns and stay-at-home restrictions were introduced.
In spite of the small decline in sales over the previous two months, TREB believes the market conditions were still tight enough to lead the average home price to a record level in May.
Last month, the average home price reached $1,108,453, outpacing April with its $1,090,992 and May 2020 with $863,563.
The annual gain in average home prices was 28.4%. As a result, the MLS home price index was up by 19% from a year ago, TREB noted.
Meanwhile, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the average price rose by 1.1% from April.
Homebuyers had more supply to choose from compared to May 2020.
TREB says there were 18,586 new listings last month, which is less than 20,825 reported in April, but more than 9,126 seen a year ago.
At the same time, TREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer believes the listings were not enough to cool down the overheated market.
“Those who were searching for a property kept facing a strong competition from other buyers, which has pushed home prices even higher”, – he noted.
“This competition is spreading all over the markets, now including a condo sector as well”.
TRREB MLS System Sales and Average Price by Home Type May 1-31, 2021:
| Sales | Average price | |||||
| 416 | 905 | Total | 416 | 905 | Total | |
| Detached house | 1,255 | 4,463 | 5,718 | 1,716,272 | 1,331,176 | 1,415,698 |
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 191.2% | 141.5% | 5.718% | 20.5% | 41.3% | 37.0% |
| Semi-Detached house | 447 | 786 | 1,233 | 1,326,153 | 915,479 | 1,064,361 |
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 172.6% | 164.6% | 167.5% | 16.0% | 27.8% | 22.6% |
| Townhouse | 512 | 1,670 | 2,182 | 945,893 | 841,962 | 866,349 |
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 212.2% | 157.7% | 168.7% | 19.0% | 27.7% | 26.2% |
| Condo | 1,881 | 829 | 2,710 | 716,976 | 603,555 | 682,280 |
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 159.1% | 201.5% | 170.7% | 6.3% | 21.4% | 9.1% |
May 2021 Year-Over-Year Per Cent Change in the MLS HPI:
| Composite
(All types) |
Single-Family Detached | Single-Family Attached | Townhouse | Apartment | ||
| TREB Total | 18.81% | 25.07% | 23.37% | 19.60% | 6.61% | |
| Halton Region | 25.80% | 28.95% | 28.47% | 23.63% | 14.26% | |
| Peel Region | 18.80% | 23.08% | 22.85% | 18.36% | 6.81% | |
| City of Toronto | 10.66% | 18.91% | 16.87% | 12.45% | 4.69% | |
| York Region | 20.74% | 22.50% | 21.94% | 26.01% | 11.53% | |
| Durham Region | 34.10% | 34.64% | 35.22% | 33.11% | 25.54% | |
| Orangeville | 29.55% | 30.82% | 31.62% | 32.99% | 4.84% | |
| South Simcoe County | 34.07% | 37.21% | 38.28% | 27.23% | 14.30% | |
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.