Tighter Market, Higher Price – TRREB Market Update April 2023
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market continued to tighten in April 2023, with sales declining on a year-over-year basis, while new listings were down by more than one-third. This resulted in more competition between buyers, which helped improve selling prices since the beginning of the year.
According to Toronto Regional Real Estate Board(TRREB) President Paul Baron, this improvement in sales and average selling price is in line with their outlook and recent consumer polling results. Many buyers have come to terms with higher borrowing costs and are taking advantage of lower selling prices compared to this time last year. However, the issue moving forward will not be the demand for ownership housing, but rather the ability to meet this demand with adequate supply.
GTA REALTORS® reported 7,531 sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in April 2023 – down by 5.2% compared to April 2022. Sales did increase in comparison to March 2023, both on an actual and seasonally adjusted basis. On a year-over-year basis, new listings were down by 38.3% in April 2023.
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was down by 12.1% year-over-year in April 2023. However, compared to March, the benchmark price was up on an actual and seasonally adjusted basis. The average selling price in the GTA was $1,153,269 in April 2023 – down 7.8% compared to $1,250,704 in April 2022, but increased compared to March, both on an actual and seasonally adjusted basis.
TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer noted that as demand for ownership housing has picked up relative to supply, renewed upward pressure on home prices is being observed. Higher borrowing costs had previously trumped the impact of the constrained housing supply in the GTA, but renewed competition between buyers is once again shining the spotlight on the persistent lack of listings and resulting impact on affordability.
TRREB CEO John DiMichele added that the lack of affordability in the GTA ownership and rental housing markets has been well-documented, and households faced with steep price increases for basic goods and services have had to make tough decisions to adapt. He urged governments to make tough choices as well, providing more value for every tax dollar they collect and looking for ways to reduce tax burdens moving forward. It is a policy issue that requires sustained effort from all levels of government to meet the demand for ownership housing with adequate supply.
Summary
The housing market in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is getting tighter, with fewer homes for sale compared to buyers looking to buy. This is leading to an increase in selling prices. While sales have gone down a bit compared to last year, more people are buying homes because they are taking advantage of lower prices. However, the issue moving forward is not the demand for homes but rather the lack of supply.
Have feedback or questions? Please drop an email to Opel Ou, Real Estate Broker: opel@opelou.com
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April 2023 – Market Statistics – Quick Overview
Residential Statistics
Commercial Statistics
Condominium Sales Statistics
Condominium Rental Statistics
* **In conjunction with TRREB’s redistricting project, historical data may be subject to revision moving forward. This could temporarily impact per cent change comparisons to data from previous years**