TRREB reports still low housing affordability level in Toronto even amid lower sales

According to the recent report by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), home prices have reached new record level in Toronto last month even amid annual decline in sales.

In February, there were 9,097 residential transactions in the area, which is 16.8% less than a year earlier. TRREB reported sales decreases in case of all housing categories. Meanwhile, the number of new listings showed an annual drop by 6.6%.

Nevertheless, TRREB says market conditions remained “extremely tight”, with affordability still deteriorating.

“Housing demand remains strong all over the GTA, and while we are close to the last year’s record pace, any buyer at this market will hardly feel it with competition remaining the norm,” – noted Kevin Crigger, president of TRREB.

Toronto’s average real estate prices were up by 27.7% on a year-over-year basis to almost $1.335 million, marking the fifth month of record numbers during the previous half a year.

“Many Canadians sped up their home purchase and entered the market in 2021, which is the main reason why home sales were expected to go down in 2022 and higher borrowing costs may have a cooling effect on sales,” – Crigger says. “At the same time, significant immigration levels and the on-going lack of supply will have a countering effect to growing mortgage costs.”