A Strong Start to 2021

The market for real estate in the GTA has gotten off to a strong start for 2021. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) has posted the sales figures for January, and the 6,928 sales reported through the MLS System represent a 52.5% increase over January 2020.

Sales were up for all major housing types, both in the City of Toronto and the surrounding areas. Condominium apartments sales were up 85.5% over the same time last year. In a vote of confidence for the local condo sector, of the 2471 units sold, 1703 were in the 416. The sales for single detached homes were up 34.4% from a year earlier with 2766 sales, semi-detached home rose 48% with 506 sales, and townhomes were up 44.8% with 1124 sales.

Demand for ground-level housing continues to be a key real estate trend to monitor. In January, 78.5% of all low-rise sales on the MLS took place outside the City of Toronto.

The other major story continues to be a shortage of housing supply. Though new listings rose by 20.2% in January, active listings are down 4.8% from the same period last year. At the end of January, there were 7396 active listings on the MLS, representing less than 1.1 months of supply. Looking closer, there is a 1 month supply for single detached homes, a 0.6 month supply for semi-detached homes, a 0.4 month supply for townhomes, and a 1.3 month supply for condo apartments.

These seller’s market conditions continued to put upward pressure on pricing in January. The average sales price of $967,885 is an increase of 15.5% year-over-year. The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark, which serves as a more accurate indicator of market inflation, was up 11.9% over January 2020.

Looking at pricing by category for December, detached homes sold for an average of $1,359,915, representing year-over-year gains of +31.2%. The average price for semi-detached homes was $996,794 (+26.6%) and townhomes rose to $803,578 (+15.9%). The average price of condos was $600,830, down 4.7% from a year earlier.

The market continues to shift. Supply is limited, demand is high, and buyers housing needs are changing. If buying or selling real estate is a part of your plan for 2021, be sure to speak with a Harvey Kalles Real Estate sales professional to get the guidance you need to make a properly informed decision.