Toronto Region Homes Sales in Steep Double-Digit Decline Due to COVID-19: TRREB

With provincial and public health safety measures in full effect, COVID-19 expectedly slowed down housing market activity across the Toronto Region this April. Home sales across the region declined 67 per cent, with 2,975 residential transactions taking place throughout the month, according to the latest report from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). TRREB president Michael Collins noted however, that weekday sales continued at a steady pace, with an average of 130 transactions taking place daily. 

The number of new listings declined 64 per cent annually – a similar rate of decline as home sales – marking a significant departure from spring market conditions typically expected at this time of year. 

Toronto Region Housing Settled into Balanced Market Territory in April

With home sales and new listings dropping at a similar rate, the housing market remained squarely in balanced market territory, ending the month with a sales-to-new-listings (SNLR) ratio of 48 per cent. SNLR is a measure of market competition that is determined by dividing the number of sales by the number of new listings. A figure between 40 per cent – 60 per cent indicates a balanced market, while above and below that threshold reflect sellers’ and buyers’ markets, respectively. 

Taking a closer look at specific regions reveals that these market dynamics remain in play – the SNLR for the City of Toronto (47 per cent) York Region (44 per cent), Durham Region (58 per cent), Peel Region (44 per cent), and Halton Region (54 per cent) all reflect balanced market conditions in April. 

Average Home Prices Rise in Most Toronto Regions; Decline in the City of Toronto

Average home prices across the Toronto Region as a whole remained flat compared to April 2019, ending the month at $821,293. Detached houses and condo apartment average prices experienced annual declines of 3.5 and 3.6 per cent each, while average prices for semi-detached houses and condo townhouses grew more than the overall annual rate of average price growth across TRREB, at 7 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively. While COVID-19 has slowed the market down considerably, TRREB’s chief market analyst Jason Mercer noted that although prices are now lower than the market peak in March,“there has continued to be enough active buyers relative to available listings to keep prices in line with last year’s levels.” 

Average home prices for all home types grew 6.6 per cent y-o-y in Peel Region ($802,155), 6.1 per cent y-o-y in York Region ($968,499), and 1.8 per cent annually in Halton Region ($870,966). Average home prices remained unchanged in Durham Region at $612,563. 

In the City of Toronto however, average home prices across all property types dipped by 2.5 per cent to $881,424. The most pronounced impact was felt in the detached home segment, where prices declined 7.8 per cent y-o-y to $1,249,730. Condo apartments experienced a 4 per cent drop in average prices annually, ending the month at $612,300. However, average prices for semi-detached houses and condo townhouses increased by 4.2 per cent to $1,096,437, and 6.2 per cent to $697,611, respectively.

Check out the infographics below to see how sales and prices have increased across all home types for TRREB and the City of Toronto in April:

Note: Comments and stats highlighting the Toronto Region as a whole are a reference to the areas covered by TRREB, which include: Durham Region, Halton Region, Peel Region, York Region, Toronto, Dufferin County and Simcoe County.

For more information about this report or to set up a media interview, please contact [email protected]