Home prices in GTA surging, as yearly sales approach record
Condo sales led the way in November, surging 10.3 per cent as buyers shift their sights to highrises because the lack of supply of single-family homes continues to push prices skyward.
Demand from home buyers remains so strong, fuelled in large part by low interest rates, it appears likely sales for 2014 – which hit 88,462 transactions as of the end of November – will surpass the previous record of some 93,200 homes, set in 2007.
Demand from home buyers remains so strong, fuelled in large part by low interest rates, it appears likely sales for 2014 – which hit 88,462 transactions as of the end of November – will surpass the previous record of some 93,200 homes, set in 2007.
By: Susan Pigg Business Reporter, Published on Thu Dec 04 2014
The average sale price of a home in the GTA climbed 7.4 per cent in November from a year earlier to $577,936 – up 8.4 per cent just since January, according to figures released by the Toronto Real Estate Board Thursday.
Some 6,519 properties changed hands in November, up just 2.6 per cent from the 6,354 homes that sold in the same month of 2013 as the market headed into its usual holidays slowdown.
But condo sales led the way in November, surging 10.3 per cent as more buyers shift their sights to highrises because the lack of supply of single-family homes continues to push prices skyward, especially in the highly sought after 416 region where bidding wars still abound.
Sales of detached homes in the GTA were actually down 0.6 per cent over November of 2013, largely because of a lack of supply: New listings were down, overall, 5.3 per cent, year over year, and active listings – new and outstanding listings of all housing types on the MLS system – were down 8.5 per cent in November over a year ago as more folks just opt to stay put.
Demand from buyers, however, remains so strong, fuelled in large part by low interest rates, that it appears likely sales for all of 2014 – which hit 88,462 transactions as of the end of November – will surpass the previous sales record of some 93,200 homes, set in 2007.
That was before the Great Recession sent sales plummeting, although prices rebounded relatively quickly thanks to an unrelenting buyers’ market.
Price growth is expected to continue through 2015 in the face of that high demand relative to supply, said TREB’s director of market analysis, Jason Mercer.
Condos sales in the 416 region were up 11.2 per cent, compared to 8.1 per cent in the 905 region, according to TREB. Unit prices climbed 4.3 per cent as of the end of November, year over year, up 2 per cent in the City of Toronto to an average of $394,225.
The 905 regions saw the biggest gains of all housing types, with condo prices up almost 12 per cent to an average sale price of $310,220.
Detached house sales were down slightly in the 416 and 905 regions, but that’s largely seen as a reflection of lack of supply, which helped drive prices up 10.2 year over year. That brought the average detached price to $935,122 in the 416 region, up 9.4 per cent, and $672,825 in the 905 regions, up 10.6 per cent.
Semi-detached homes – the new go-to housing type for those determined to buy a house, rather than a condo – also saw sales drop in November.
But that 4.7 per cent decline – 2.2 per cent in the 416 region and 6.3 per cent in the 905 regions – is also indicative of lack of supply as prices were up 6.1 per cent in November overall.
That brought the average price of a semi in the City of Toronto to $667,178 (up 4.2 per cent) and $449,429 (up 7.1 per cent) in the 905 regions.
Townhouses saw average price growth of 8.1 per cent across the GTA, bringing the average sale price of a townhouse in Toronto to $503,349 (up 6.3 per cent) and $410,897 in the 905 regions (up 8.6 per cent.)
