Toronto Real Estate News/Market Update
|
Get the latest news about real estate related information, home sales and price changes in the Greater Toronto Area. We publish news releases twice a month, including a full statistical update on market conditions at the beginning of each month.
|
Subscribe to our
Free Monthly Newsletter
Greater Toronto Area
Real Estate News
and Market Update delivered to your inbox once a month!
|
February Sales and Average Price Increase Annually
TORONTO, March 3, 2010 – Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 7,291 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in February, representing a 77 per cent increase over February 2009. The average price for these transactions was up 19 per cent year-over-year to $431,509. Sales and average price increases represent both increased demand for ownership housing and the base year effect, which involves a comparison of economic recovery this year to a period of economic decline last year.
Increases in existing home sales and average price were noted across the GTA in low-rise and high-rise home types. Similar rates of growth were experienced in the City of Toronto and surrounding 905 regions. This suggests that first time, move-up and down sizing buyers are all active in the existing home marketplace.
New listings also increased in February, climbing 24 per cent compared to the same month last year.
Annual growth in new listings is expected to continue. New listings growth will start to outstrip sales growth as we move through 2010. As the market becomes better supplied, we will see more sustainable single-digit rates of price growth.
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board
Top
Summary of February Toronto MLS® Sales and Average Price 2009 - 2010
| |
GTA |
City of Toronto ("416") |
Rest of GTA ("905") |
| Sales 2010 |
7,291 |
2,891 |
4,400 |
| Sales 2009 |
4,120 |
1,653 |
2,467 |
| %Change |
77% |
75% |
78% |
| |
|
|
|
| Average Price 2010 |
$431,509 |
$475,579 |
$402,553 |
| Average Price 2009 |
$361,305 |
$392,919 |
$340,122 |
| %Change |
19% |
21% |
18% |
| |
|
|
|
| Active Listings* 2010 |
14,514 |
|
|
| Active Listings* 2009 |
21,440 |
|
|
| %Change |
-32% |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| Days on Market 2010 |
22 |
|
|
| Days on Market 2009 |
45 |
|
|
| %Change |
-51% |
|
|
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board
Top
TREB MLS® Average Resale Home Price
Monthly with Three Previous Years for Comparison
TREB MLS® Sales
Monthly with Three Previous Years for Comparison
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board
Top
Federal Government Changes Mortgage Rules
The federal government has announced changes to the rules for government-backed insured mortgages (less than 20 percent down payment) as follows:
- All borrowers will be required to meet the standards for a five-year fixed rate mortgage even if they choose a mortgage with a lower interest rate and shorter terms.
- Reduced maximum amount that can be withdrawn in refinancing a government-backed insured mortgage to 90 per cent from 95 per cent of the value of the home.
- Require a minimum down payment of 20 per cent for government-backed mortgage insurance on non-owner occupied properties purchased for speculation. Borrowers purchasing owner-occupied residential properties will still be able to access government-backed mortgage insurance with a 5 per cent down payment.
"There's no clear evidence of a housing bubble, but we're taking proactive, prudent and cautious steps today to help prevent one. Our Government is acting to help prevent Canadian households from getting overextended, and acting to help prevent some lenders from facilitating it," said Minister Flaherty. "If some lenders aren't willing to act themselves, we will act. These measures demonstrate the Government is committed to taking action when necessary to support the long-term stability of a sector that is so vital to our economy and the financial well-being of Canadian families."
These adjustments to the mortgage insurance guarantee framework are intended to come into force on April 19, 2010.
Additional detail is available here.
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board
Top
Toronto Real Estate Board: Rental Market Report
Rental Transactions Up Again
An Analysis of September 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009
From September through December 2009, TREB Members reported 3,859 lease transactions for condominium apartments and townhouses through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) – up 12 per cent from the 3,433 recorded during the same time in 2008. Condominium apartment transactions which accounted for over 90 per cent of the total, were also up by 12 per cent.
The weighted average rent across all apartment types and all TREB districts for the last four months of 2009 was $1,667 - in line with the 2008 weighted average of $1,672. This reflected the fact that average rents for the two most popular apartment categories moved in opposite directions, with a one per cent decrease for one-bedroom apartments and a one per cent increase for two bedroom apartments. At the district level, rent changes were quite mixed, in some cases changing at rates above or below the GTA average.
Owners of rental condominium apartments have had to consider changes in the supply and demand sides of the condominium rental market when setting rents over the past year. According to CMHC, the average condominium apartment vacancy rate increased from 0.4 per cent to 0.8 per cent between 2008 and 2009, with the stock of rented condominium apartments increasing by over 6,900 units1. While the condominium apartment vacancy rate is still substantially lower than the vacancy rate for purposebuilt rental apartments. The increase was still indicative of increased supply in some sectors of the rental market. Factors leading to increased vacancies included the strong growth in home ownership demand in the second half of 2009 coupled with strong condominium apartment completions2, which would have included investor-held units to be rented out.
A steep increase in rental listings explains the year-to-year decline in rents. At the end of August, 9,781 rental condominium listings appeared on the TorontoMLS system, a 51 per cent increase over the 6,482 listings available at the end of the May-August 2008 period.
Rental Transactions
Central Area
- Central area districts led the way for leased transactions in the last third of 2009, with 2,162 leased condominium apartments reported. Of these 1,251 were one-bedroom apartments, and 774 were two-bedroom units, which leased for an average of $1,540 and $2,174 per month respectively. Average one bedroom rents were down one percent; average two bedroom rents were up two per cent.
- There were 70 condominium townhouse rentals in the Central area. Of these, 27 were three-bedroom units, which rented for an average of $2,725 per month, down five per cent.
East Area
- In TREB’s East districts, Members reported a total of 296 condominium apartments rented. The majority of these rentals were one and two bedroom units, with130 and 146 units rented respectively. One-bedroom apartments rented for an average of $1,259 per month, up three per cent from the same period last year. Twobedroom apartments rented for an average of $1,501 per month, the same as last year.
- There were also 41 town homes leased in TREB’s East districts. Over half of these (28) were three-bedroom units, which rented for an average of $1,392 per month, down one per cent from 2008.
North Area
- The majority of condominium apartments leased within the North area (346 in total) during TREB’s last reporting period were one and two-bedroom units. One-bedroom apartments rented for an average of $1,318 per month, down three per cent from last year. Two-bedroom apartments rented for an average of $1,703 per month, a two per cent drop from the last four months of 2008.
- During that same reporting period, 45 townhouse units rented in TREB’s North districts. The most common were three-bedroom units (31 transactions), which rented for an average of $1,788 per month, up nine per cent from last year.
West Area
- TREB’s West area remained the second most active (after the Central districts) for condominium apartment rentals, with 737 units renting over the past four months. One-bedroom units rented for $1,296 per month, a three per cent decline from the $1,332 recorded in 2008. Two bedroom units leased for an average of $1,640 per month, up two per cent from last year’s $1,611.
- TREB’s West area led the GTA in the rental of condominium townhouses, with 162 deals in total. Of these 115 were three-bedroom units, which rented for an average of $1,563 per month a one per cent increase over last year.
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board
Top
