Toronto real estate is measured by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) monthly Market Watch report. Investors, buyers and sellers all monitor TREB Market Watch to inform their buying and selling decisions.
Combined sales for Q1 of 2016 (January, February and March) saw a strong double-digit increase of 13.6 per cent in all types of homes in Toronto for sales. However, number of listings went down year-over-year from Q1 2015 to Q1 2016. The number of active listings decreased drastically by 20.6 per cent over 2015. April continued this trend with an increase in sales but a decrease in number of listings.
We’ll examine each TREB Market Watch in our month-by-month breakdown for January to April of 2016.
January 2016
January sales came in with a strong start with an overall increase in sales from January 2015 of 8.2 per cent. High-end detached homes being sold in areas surrounding Toronto were responsible for some of this growth, according to the TREB. The TREB also cited an Ispos poll which stated that 12 per cent of households in the GTA were contemplating purchasing a new home in 2016.
Download: TREB January Market Watch Report
February 2016
February was a very strong month for Toronto real estate sales, with number of listings increasing by 21.1 per cent over February 2015. Numbers went up significantly in all property types in all regions, with the highest increases being seen in condos in both the Toronto core and the GTA. It was a seller’s market according the TREB, with bidding wars driving up the average prices significantly.
Download: TREB February Market Watch Report
March 2016
The average selling price for a home in March 2016 was up by 12.1 per cent over March 2015. Jason Mercer, Director of Market Analysis for TREB, pointed out that sales growth would have been greater if supply had not been so constricted. Condo apartments in the 905 area code saw a huge 36.1 per cent increase in total number of sales, and detached homes in the 905 area code saw the largest price increase, with an average price increase of 18.2 per cent.
Download: TREB March Market Watch Report
April 2016
April saw a decrease in total number of sales in the Toronto core, with the notable exception of condos. The TREB points to the dip as being a result of the lowered supply of detached, semi-detached and townhouse listings. Even with the 416 listing drag, April year-over-year sales increases still came in impressively at 7.4 per cent.
Condominiums in the 416 area code saw a massive spike in number of sales at 17.4 per cent, possibly due to the combination of lack of supply and high prices in low-rise 416 listings.
Download: TREB April Market Watch Report
The rest of 2016 promises upward trends in the Toronto real estate market if the upward trend of the first four months continues.
Going forward, Highgate will offer monthly breakdowns of each Market Watch to give you a high-level summary of the state of the market. Subscribe to our blog to make sure you receive our monthly updates.
