Strong sales numbers and increasing average prices persisted in September for the Greater Toronto Area. The 21.5 percent sales growth is driven by the overarching trend of high demand and minuscule supply for all home types.
The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) showed 9,902 transactions last month. Sales growth was slower for semi-detached properties and in the City of Toronto. A decline in available new listings may have influenced the numbers for those market pockets. Across the GTA new listings declined 5.6 percent from 16,008 in September 2015 to 15,111 last month. The total number of active listings decreased by 36.6 percent for the same time frame.
Unsurprisingly, average sales prices rose for all property classes compared to September 2015. Toronto buyers could expect to pay $755,755 for residential real estate, up 20.4 percent year-over-year.
The luxury market is highly competitive. Of September’s transactions, 1,830 were in the $1 million-plus market segment and 297 of those sales were in the super-luxury $2 million-plus bracket, including detached, semi-detached, condominium, and other property types.
“The Toronto Real Estate Board will be closely monitoring how the recent changes to Federal mortgage lending guidelines and capital gains tax exemption rules impact the housing market in the Greater Toronto Area. While these changes are pointed at the demand for ownership housing, it is important to note that much of the upward pressure on home prices in the GTA has been based on the declining inventory of homes available for sale,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.
​​​​​​​​​​​Toronto properties averaged 16 days on the market for September 2016. With properties in all market segments moving quickly, it’s vital to have an experienced real estate agent accustomed to working with high-end real estate. Barry Cohen has been a leader in Toronto real estate for over two decades. Barry knows how to receive the most for your dollar in this competitive market.
