TORONTO, May 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) set a new record for April and amounted to more than quadruple that from April 2020 – the first full month of the pandemic. Bucking the regular seasonal trend, April 2021 sales actually declined month-over-month. A similar trend was noted for the number of new listings reported.
GTA REALTORS® reported 13,663 sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in April 2021 – a 12.7 per cent decrease compared to March 2021, but more than quadruple the number of sales reported in April 2020, when the economic impact of COVID-19 was arguably the worst. Compared to the ten-year sales average of 10,000 for the April 2010 to April 2019 period, the April 2021 sales result was up by 36.6 per cent.
New listings followed a similar track – down by 8.4 per cent compared to March 2021, but more than triple the number of new listings reported in April 2020. Compared to the ten-year new listings average for the April 2010 to April 2019 period, the April 2021 new listings count was up by 18.3 per cent.
“While sales remained very strong last month, many REALTORS® noted a marked slowing in both the number of transactions and the number of new listings. It makes sense that we had a pullback in market activity compared to March. We’ve experienced a torrid pace of home sales since the summer of 2020 while seeing little in the way of population growth. We may be starting to exhaust the pool of potential buyers within the existing GTA population. Over the long term, sustained growth in sales requires sustained growth in population,” said TRREB President Lisa Patel.
The MLS® Home Price Index Composite benchmark was up by 17.8 per cent year-over-year. The Composite benchmark also increased on a monthly basis, but the pace of monthly growth decelerated. The average selling price of $1,090,992 was up by 33 per cent compared to April 2020, but was basically flat relative to March 2021. This was in contrast to most years in the past when the average selling price increased between March and April.
“Despite a modest slowing in market activity in April compared to March, selling prices for all major home types remained very high. Low borrowing costs during COVID-19 clearly had an impact on the demand for and price of ownership housing. While the pace of price growth could moderate in the coming months, home prices will likely continue on the upward trend. Renewed population growth over the next year coupled with a persistent lack of new inventory will underpin home price appreciation,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.
“All levels of government – most recently the federal Minister of Finance – have acknowledged that long-term housing affordability in Canada, including the GTA, will be predicated on the ability to bring more supply on line. With the federal, provincial, and municipal governments on the same page, we need to see a coordinated and collaborative effort to streamline the development approvals process to pave the way for more ownership and rental housing,” said TRREB CEO John DiMichele.
Summary of TRREB MLS® System Sales and Average Price April 1–30, 2021
2021
2020
Sales
Average Price
New Listings
Sales
Average Price
New Listings
City of Toronto ("416")
4,694
1,088,021
7,481
1,030
878,249
2,223
Rest of GTA ("905")
8,969
1,092,547
13,344
1,927
789,212
3,957
GTA
13,663
1,090,992
20,825
2,957
820,226
6,180
TRREB MLS® System Sales & Average Price by Home TypeApril 1–30, 2021
Sales
Average Price
416
905
Total
416
905
Total
Detached
1.322
5.194
6.516
1,699,756
1,308,185
1,387,629
Yr./Yr. % Change
326.5%
376.1%
365.1%
36.8%
44.0%
41.3%
Semi-Detached
487
817
1.304
1,308,799
925.938
1,068,923
Yr./Yr. % Change
289.6%
316.8%
306.2%
19.6%
28.9%
23.6%
Townhouse
578
1.855
2.433
942.371
831.152
857.574
Yr./Yr. % Change
440.2%
338.5%
359.1%
20.1%
26.8%
25.9%
Condo Apartment
2.277
1.013
3.29
727.137
612.341
691.791
Yr./Yr. % Change
373.4%
450.5%
394.7%
18.7%
25.1%
19.6%
April 2021 Year-Over-Year Per Cent Change in the MLS® HPI
Composite (All Types)
Single-Family Detached
Single-Family Attached
Townhouse
Apartment
TRREB Total
17.83%
24.51%
22.99%
17.55%
4.26
Halton Region
24.45%
27.73%
28.14%
22.23%
14.99
Peel Region
17.83%
22.01%
22.32%
15.96%
5.94
City of Toronto
9.11%
18.47%
17.15%
11.28%
2.49
York Region
20.91%
24.43%
22.67%
19.52%
7.67
Durham Region
33.45%
33.74%
34.72%
34.87%
21.71
Orangeville
31.92%
31.53%
32.78%
-
-
South Simcoe County1
34.55%
28.37%
33.47%
-
-
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board
1South Simcoe includes Adjala-Tosorontio, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Essa, Innisfil and New Tecumseth
Year-to-Date Summary of TRREB MLS® System Sales and Average Price April 2021
2021
2020
Sales
Average Price
New Listings
Sales
Average Price
New Listings
City of Toronto ("416")
16,215
1,028,662
22,976
7,833
952,288
13,280
Rest of GTA ("905")
30,942
1,082,916
45,180
14,807
843,763
25,800
GTA
47,157
1,064,261
68,156
22,640
881,311
39,080
YTD TRREB MLS® System Sales & Average Price by Home Type April 2021
Sales
Average Price
416
905
Total
416
905
Total
Detached
4,199
17,560
21,759
1,699,554
1,310,556
1,385,624
Yr./Yr. % Change
87.1%
109.7%
104.9%
19.3%
32.7%
28.3%
Semi-Detached
1,415
2,849
4,264
1,293,197
926,595
1,048,251
Yr./Yr. % Change
128.2%
99.8%
108.4%
14.0%
24.3%
21.4%
Townhouse
1,733
6,288
8,021
923,405
835,318
854,350
Yr./Yr. % Change
115.8%
108.4%
110.0%
12.6%
22.0%
19.8%
Condo Apartment
8,756
3,940
12,696
689,300
586,395
657,365
Yr./Yr. % Change
112.6%
122.2%
115.5%
-1.1%
11.2%
1.8%
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board
Seasonally Adjusted TRREB MLS® Sales and Average Price1
Sales
Month-over-Month % Chg.
Average Price
Month-over-Month % Chg.
April '20
2,410
-64.1%
$789,620
-11.7%
May '20
3,695
53.3%
$827,396
4.8%
June '20
6,547
77.2%
$904,293
9.3%
July '20
9,431
44.1%
$952,341
5.3%
August '20
10,535
11.7%
$981,518
3.1%
September '20
10,076
-4.4%
$952,928
-2.9%
October '20
9,773
-3.0%
$957,730
0.5%
November '20
9,409
-3.7%
$966,255
0.9%
December '20
11,305
20.2%
$978,462
1.3%
January '21
11,701
3.5%
$1,008,484
3.1%
February '21
13,339
14.0%
$1,034,132
2.5%
March '21
13,406
0.5%
$1,088,801
5.3%
April '21
10,759
-19.7
$1,049,874
-3.6%
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board; CREA Seasonal Adjustment
1 Preliminary seasonal adjustment undertaken by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Removing normal seasonal variations allows for more meaningful analysis of monthly changes and underlying trends.
Media Inquiries: Genevieve Grant, Public Affairs Specialist ggrant@trebnet.net 416-443-8159
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board with more than 59,000 residential and commercial professionals connecting people, property and communities.
