July 16, 2018

July Mid-Month GTA Home Sales Shaping Up to Be Slower Than June: Report

The first two weeks of July appear to be on a weaker track than in June for the Greater Toronto Area housing market, though sales are showing some year-over-year improvement across most home types throughout the region.

Overall, sales fell a scant 2 and 3 per cent within the City of Toronto and total TREB area from the same time period in 2017, though declines from last month are more pronounced, with 20 per cent and 21 per cent fewer activity in both regions, respectively,

The slowdown isn’t particularly surprising given June has been noted as 2018’s protracted spring market, as the robust activity usually witnessed from March to May never manifested.

However, now that the dog days of summer have arrived, so too have slower summer conditions, as both buyers and sellers take a break before conditions typically heat back up come fall. This is reflected in the shorter supply in new homes for sale across all home types, as fewer sellers wish to put their listing on the market as cottage country beckons. Indeed, each housing segment throughout both the 416 and GTA regions reflect buyers’ market conditions, with sales-to-new-listings ratios ranging from 30 – 38 per cent.

Related Read: June Toronto Housing Report Predicts Price Hike to Come

Check out how July mid-month trends differ from the same time period in June and 2017, in the infographic below:

Condos: Sales are up 6 per cent from 2017 throughout the TREB region, though flat within the Toronto condos markets at -1 per cent. From the same two-week time period in June, however, the decline is more pronounced, at -21 and -26 per cents, respectively.

Supply has also tightened considerably from last month, with -13 per cent fewer units listed for sale in the GTA, and -15 per cent fewer in the 416, though listings are roughly the same as last year, at -1 and -12 per cents.

Townhouses: Sales are up the most strongly for townhouses out of any home type, at a robust increase of 20 per cent in the GTA, and 42 per cent in the 416. However, declines from June are more substantial at -27 per cent in the TREB region, and down -25 per cent in the city proper. Supply has also tightened, with – 21 per cent fewer units in the GTA in June, and -17 per cent fewer in the City of Toronto.

Detached: Houses for sale in Toronto continue to post subtle improvement in demand throughout the GTA, as a comparison to the sharp declines that occurred in the segment in the months that followed the implementation of the Ontario Fair Housing Plan in spring 2017. Sales are up 9 per cent from then in the TREB region, though are roughly flat, at a decline of -4 per cent, throughout the 416. The declines are steeper yet from June, however, following relatively strong recovery in sales last month, down -27 per cent in TREB and -38 per cent in the 416, while listings fell -27 and -34 per cents, respectively.

Semi-Detached: Sales for attached single-family homes were flat across the GTA from last year, though are down a steeper -8 per cent in the 416. From June however, the declines are sharp, at -34 and -50 per cents in both regions, respectively. It should be noted, though, that given the comparatively smaller amount of semi-detached inventory, any fluctuation in sales can signal a dramatic trend compared to other housing types. New listings also tightened significantly, down -25 and 11 per cent from last year, and -31 and -36 per cents from June.