TORONTO – For the first time, the average sale price of a single-family home in the city of Toronto has hit the $2 million mark, although there was a slight cooling in the region’s real estate market in February. Although it was the second busiest February ever recorded for home sales (9,097), there were 16.8% fewer deals than last year’s record month, but up 61.4% from the previous month.
This was reported by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). But TRREB President Kevin Crigger said the change in sales activity would be imperceptible to consumers as competition among home buyers continued to push prices to record levels in many areas.
The average sale price for all homes and condos in the region was $1.33 million, 28% more than last February and about $90,000 more than the January average.
The $2.03 million for a single-family home in the city was a 23 percent jump from the same month last year. In the Toronto belt areas, single-family homes were sold 33% more than a year ago, for an average of $1.73 million.
Condos, which had collapsed in the first year of the pandemic, also saw double-digit increases last month. In 905, condos were sold at $756,146, a 34% increase year-over-year.
Due to the increase in the cost of houses, according to real estate agents, the market has changed: consumers, wary of the struggle between hypothetical buyers with offers – obviously the highest one wins the house – and considering the exorbitant prices, have suspended the race to buy the house.
The Real Estate Board blames the slowdown in sales on the fact that many people during the pandemic, taking advantage of historically low mortgage rates and the belief that working from home has freed them from commuting, have moved away from the city center where they have been able to buy more spacious homes.
Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s chief market analyst Jason Mercer is convinced that it will be some time before price growth slows down because the number of homes on the market remains exceptionally low.
If you consider the type of home, the largest volume of sales is recorded in the range of detached single-family homes with 3,928 sales in the GTA: the average price of a single-family home increased by 31% to $ 1,797,203.
As for Toronto, with $2,073,989 (23%) it officially crossed the $2 million threshold. “As the number of homes on the market remains exceptionally low, it will take some time for the pace of price growth to slow down,” says Jason Mercer, “a more moderate pace of cost increase will occur in the second half of 2022 as higher mortgage interest causes some households to temporarily suspend buying a home.”
