Dear CDs,

Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) released the figures for February 2019 for the residential transactions done through TREB MLS system.

Highlights:

- Total GTA sales in February 2019 were down by 2.4% (year over year) - February 2019 Vs February 2018

- The OSFI mandated mortgage stress test is one of the reasons for lower sales.

- New listings also declined by a greater annual rate, creating the tight market (Supply-Demand) condition.

- Resulting in average price growth year over year.

- MLS home price index and average selling price - both were up modestly.

- The prices of Semi Detached type of properties lead the way this month, in terms of growth. The year over year increase in the average selling price for Semi detached was: 9.9%, followed by Condo apartments which saw an increase of 6.1%

- Average selling price for Detached properties slided down by 2.1% (year over year)

- However, ASP for townhouse remained more or less same.

It may still be a good time to upgrade from Semi Detached to Detached property. Sell at higher price, buy at lower.

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TORONTO, ONTARIO, March 2019 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Gurcharan (Garry) Bhaura announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 5,025 homes sold through TREB’s MLS® System in February 2019. This sales total was down by 2.4 per cent on a year-over-year basis. Sales were also down compared to January 2019 following preliminary seasonal adjustment.

“The OSFI mandated mortgage stress test has left some buyers on the sidelines who have struggled to qualify for the type of home they want to buy. The stress test should be reviewed and consideration should be given to bringing back 30 year amortizations for federally insured mortgages. There is a federal budget and election on the horizon. It will be interesting to see what policy measures are announced to help with home ownership affordability,” said Mr. Bhaura.

Despite sales being down year-over-year, new listings actually declined by a greater annual rate. This suggests that market conditions became tighter compared to last year. Tighter market conditions continued to support year-over-year average price growth.

Both the MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark and the average selling price were up modestly on a year-over-year basis in February 2019. The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark was up by 2.4 per cent year-over-year. The average selling price for all home types combined was up by 1.6 per cent over the same period. Price growth was driven by the condominium apartment segment and higher density low-rise home types.

“Home sales reported through TREB’s MLS® System have a substantial impact on the Canadian economy. A study conducted by Altus for TREB found that, on average, each home sale reported through TREB resulted in $68,000 in spin-off expenditures accruing to the economy. With sales substantially lower than the 2016 record peak over the last two years, we have experienced a hit to the economy in the billions of dollars, in the GTA alone. This hit has also translated into lower government revenues and, if sustained, could impact the employment picture as well,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis and Service Channels.


Summary of TREB MLS® Sales and Average Price – February 1-28
2019 2018
Average New Average New
Sales Price Listings Sales Price Listings
City of Toronto (416) 1,879 840,211 3,301 2,005 806,524 3,365
Rest of GTA (905) 3,146 744,672 6,527 3,143 743,099 7,108
GTA 5,025 780,397 9,828 5,148 767,801 10,473

Annual Summary of TREB MLS® Sales and Average Price
Year-to-Date
2019 2018
Average New Average New
Sales Price Listings Sales Price Listings
City of Toronto (416) 3,298 812,982 6,444 3,514 789,721 6,134
Rest of GTA (905) 5,720 739,221 12,841 5,621 731,452 12,900
GTA 9,018 766,197 19,285 9,135 753,866 19,034

TREB MLS® Sales & Average Price By Home Type – February 1-28
Sales Average Price
416 905 Total 416 905 Total
Detached 470 1,701 2,171 1,294,936 894,147 980,914
Yr./Yr. % Change -9.6% 4.2% 0.8% 0.8% -1.9% -2.1%
Semi-Detached 174 282 456 1,087,363 675,355 832,569
Yr./Yr. % Change 20.0% -6.9% 1.8% 10.5% 4.1% 9.9%
Townhouse 159 634 793 764,569 603,372 635,693
Yr./Yr. % Change -12.6% -4.2% -6.0% -1.7% 0.5% -0.5%
Condo Apartment 1,064 472 1,536 612,488 448,711 562,161
Yr./Yr. % Change -6.7% -3.5% -5.7% 7.4% 3.1% 6.1%

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Sanjeev Manocha, MBA
Real Estate Sales Representative
Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR)

Re/Max West Realty Inc, Brokerage
96, Rexdale Blvd., Toronto

Mobile: 416-843-7600
Office: 416-745-2300
http://www.manocharealty.com" rel="nofollow">LINK