The Toronto Region housing market recovered considerably in June following a significant slowdown due to COVID-19. As cases started to decline across the province and the economy began to open up, more buyers and sellers jumped off the sidelines and returned to the market, kickstarting sales recovery. Similarly, average home prices continued on a steady upward trajectory, lapping February 2020 levels. This is significant as February was the last full month before COVID-19 health and safety measures were introduced.
The latest data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) noted there were 8,701 home sales across the Toronto Region in June – representing a striking 89% increase since May, and a modest 2% year-over-year (y-o-y) decline. There were 2,830 home sales in the City of Toronto, marking a significant 90% m-o-m increase; however sales remain 12% lower than June last year. Compared to February 2020, home sales across the Toronto Region grew 20%. New listings picked up across the region in June and exceeded June 2019 levels by 2%. New listing growth was significant on a m-o-m basis as well, with a 77% increase, and grew 52% since February.
The average sold home price for all property types across the Toronto Region in June was $930,869, marking a 2% increase since February, a 12% increase month-over-month (m-o-m) and an 8% annual increase. In the City of Toronto, the average home price grew 3% since February, 7% m-o-m, and 12% y-o-y to $1,022,138.
Semi-Detached and Condo Townhouse Segments Exhibit Seller’s Market Conditions in Most Regions
Across the Toronto Region as a whole, housing competition remained balanced, with a sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) of 54%. This echoes conditions in the market last June, when the SNLR was 56%. In general, market conditions are considered balanced when the SNLR – a measure of the number of homes that were sold relative to the number of new listings during a period of time – is between 40% to 60%.
A closer look at specific home types across TRREB reveals that buyers seeking semi-detached and condo townhouse properties faced more competition compared to buyers interested in other property types. Across the Toronto Region, the SNLR for semi-detached and condo townhouse properties were in seller’s market territory at 64% and 67% respectively, meaning that competition conditions favoured sellers over buyers. A seller’s market exists when the SNLR is over 60%, implying that more homes sold relative to the number of new listings that were added to the market during the month of June. Both those property types were also in seller’s markets last June with SNLRs of 68% and 69%.
By geographic region, the SNLR for semi-detached properties was 68% in Halton, 69% in Peel, and 69% in Durham. York Region and the City of Toronto remained at the end of balanced market territory for the time being with an SNLR of 56% and 58%, respectively.
Comparatively, the detached house segment in most Toronto regions experienced balanced market conditions. The SNLR for detached properties was 57% for the region as a whole, however buyers seeking detached houses in Durham and Halton Region faced seller’s market conditions with an SNLR of 68% and 62% respectively. Peel Region (59%), the City of Toronto (50%) and York Region (47%) remained in balanced territory.
In the condominium segment, competition for condo townhouses favoured sellers in all TRREB regions with the exception of York Region (where the SNLR was 55%). Competition for condo townhouses was most fierce in Durham Region where the SNLR was 79%, followed by Peel Region (72%), Halton Region (70%), and the City of Toronto (63%).
The condo apartment market, on the other hand, was comparatively less fierce with buyer’s market conditions playing out in several regions, even though the Toronto Region as a whole remained technically within the realm of balanced market conditions with an SNLR of 40%. The condo apartment segment remained balanced in Halton and Durham Regions where the SNLR was 50% in each, but crept into buyer’s territory in the City of Toronto (39%), Peel (38%) and York Region (35%). A buyer’s market exists when the SNLR is below 40% and indicates that competition conditions favour buyers, as fewer condo apartments sold compared to the number of new listings in June.
Double-Digit Annual Average Price Growth in the Detached and Semi-Detached Segments Signal Recovery in the Higher-End Market
As noted by TRREB, “the strongest average annual rates of price growth were experienced in the detached and semi-detached market segments in the City of Toronto.” The average price of semi-detached properties grew 22% annually to $1,287,832, while the average price of detached properties grew 14% to $1,523,770. The condominium segment also experienced annual price growth, but to a lesser degree. In the City of Toronto, condo townhouses noted a 4% increase in average price to $736,088, while condo apartments saw a 6% y-o-y increase in the average price to $672,465.
This trend in average home price growth was reflected more broadly across the Toronto Region as well. The average price for semi-detached properties grew 12% y-o-y to $929,138, while detached properties were close behind with an 11% increase to $1,127,419. The average home price for condominium properties across the Toronto Region grew in the single-digits: condo townhouses grew 8% to $654,897 and condo apartments increased 7% to $631,704.
Check out the infographics below to see how sales and average prices changed by home type for TRREB and the City of Toronto in June.
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.
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