April 2023 – Toronto housing sales go up by 27%, as the market keeps recovering
Last month, the recovery in Toronto’s real estate market gained pace, with home sales and prices going up for the third month in a row amid a lack of supply and growing competition among buyers.
According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), the home price index, excluding the most expensive properties, went up by 2.4% to $1,145,700 from March to April. It’s the second month with an index hike of more than 2%, following a 1% increase seen in February.
The number of new listings rose by 6.5% but remained well below the 10-year average. The gain in new listings wasn’t enough for the increased demand from buyers. Home sales were up by 27% from March to April on a seasonally adjusted basis.
TRREB’s chief market analyst, Jason Mercer, says there could be several reasons for this lack of listings, including homeowners’ worries about their ability to find another property and higher borrowing costs. In addition to it, certain homeowners didn’t want to list their properties when prices were still lower than a year ago.
As home prices go up, Mercer says, we may also see more listings: “Listings growth often depends on price growth.”
During most of the time in 2022, many potential buyers were unsure about the pace of interest rate hikes and were waiting for real estate prices to fall even lower. However, after the central bank took a pause in its rate increases earlier this year, buyers began to return to the market.
Today, when home prices are growing, potential buyers believe the decline is over, realtors say.
We can see stronger competition across the Toronto region. Halton saw a 5% index hike in April, Peel and Durham reported 3% gains each. These areas showed skyrocketing price trends when the interest rates were close to zero.
While mortgages are more expensive than during the first two years of the pandemic, according to realtors, potential buyers are adjusting and some are receiving much more help from their parents for a down payment.
| Sales | Average Price | |||||
| April 2023 | 416 | 905 | Total | 416 | 905 | Total |
| Detached | 767 | 2,681 | 3,448 | 1,787,752 | 1,403,863 | 1,489,258 |
| YoY % Change | -11.1% | -0.5% | -3.1% | -8.1% | -7.7% | -8.3% |
| Semi-Detached | 232 | 398 | 630 | 1,326462 | 1,024,342 | 1,135,599 |
| YoY % Change | -24.9% | -18.1% | -20.8% | -11.4% | -7.6% | -9.8% |
| Townhouse | 268 | 961 | 1,229 | 1,053,864 | 967,229 | 986,121 |
| YoY % Change | -20.0% | -6.4% | -9.8% | -3.0% | -3.0% | -3.2% |
| Condo Apt | 1,453 | 707 | 2,160 | 751,916 | 666,987 | 724,118 |
| YoY % Change | -1.8% | 3.8% | 0.0% | -8.0% | -7.7% | -8.0% |
Year-Over-Year Summary
| 2023 | 2022 | % Chg | |
| Sales | 7,531 | 7,940 | -5.2% |
| New Listings | 11,364 | 18,416 | -38.3% |
| Active Listings | 10,373 | 13,092 | -20.8% |
| Average Price | $1,153,269 | $1,250,704 | -7.8% |