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June 2024 Toronto Real Estate Market Report

The Bank of Canada, as anticipated, reduced its benchmark rate in June, but it did not have the desired market effect. In fact it had the opposite effect. That’s because the rate cut was marginal, only 0.25 percent, not enough to move the resale market needle. Mortgage markets and bond markets had already analyzed and digested the prevailing economic data and had already priced into the Bank of Canada’s rate cut. Except for variable rates, still very lofty at 6.4 percent, there was no movement in fixed five year terms. After the Bank of Canada’s rate cuts, five year fixed term rates remain above 5 percent.

Since the Bank’s rate cut had no impact on fixed mortgage rates, affordability was not affected. Buyers were immobilized by this insignificant rate cut, now hoping for a better financing environment after the Bank meets again in late July.

Sales for the City of Toronto and the surrounding Region totalled 6,213 properties in June, 16.4 percent fewer than the 7,429 sales that were reported last year. The decline in sales was universal, affecting all housing types throughout the entire Region. Condominium apartments, the most financially sensitive housing type, dramatically demonstrated the affordability crisis. Condominium apartment sales declined by over 28 percent, notwithstanding that they are the least expensive housing type. The average sale price of condominium apartment sales came in at $727,861. Condominium apartment sales represented almost 50 percent of the overall Toronto and Region resale market, a huge drag on the monthly numbers.

Notwithstanding the decline in sales the average sale price for all properties sold, including condominium apartments has remained very resident.

In June, the average sale price came in at $1,162,167, marginally lower than it was last year. Even though affordability has plagued the resale market throughout 2024 (and the later half of 2023) the average sale price has continued to rise throughout the year. In January, the average sale price was only $1,025,262. It has increased by more than 13 percent since the beginning of the year.

Inventory has also increased throughout the first half of 2024. At the end of June there were 23,613 properties available to buyers, 67.4 percent more than the 14,108 available last year. This volume is now beginning to push beyond pre-pandemic inventory levels. At the same period, in 2018 and 2019, inventory levels were approximately 20,000. At the end of June there were 8,806 condominium apartment available to buyers. Almost 40 percent of the total available inventory is represented by condominium apartments.

Although sales and average sale prices of detached and semi-detached properties declined, the properties that sold did so in robust fashion. All detached properties in the City of Toronto sold in only 15 days and at 101 percent of their asking price. The average sale price for all detached properties sold came in at $1,758,649. All semi-detached properties sold in only 13 days and, amazingly, for 105 percent of their asking price. In Toronto’s eastern trading districts, all semi-detached properties sold in only 10 days on market and for an eye-popping 110 percent of their asking price. The average sale price for semi-detached properties in June came in at $1,282,000.

At first glance, it is difficult to reconcile the performance of detached and semi-detached properties against the backdrop of declining sales numbers. A deeper analysis indicates that demand, primarily due to population growth, remains strong. The problem is that most buyers can not afford to purchase detached and semi-detached properties with five year interest rates at more than 5 percent. In addition, there is the hurdle of the crippling mortgage stress test amounting to another 2 percentage points. Those that could afford the lofty detached and semi-detached properties aggressively bought them, and in almost record time, paying over the asking prices.

Condominium apartment sales are the weakest sector in the resale market. Inventory levels have increased substantially, approaching almost 9,000 units, as fewer apartments are absorbed by sales. At the end of June there are almost 9 months of condominium apartment inventory in the Toronto and Region resale market. Surprisingly the average sale price in Toronto’s central core for condominium apartments came in at $815,305. This is no doubt due to the fact that out of the 1,014 reported sales 20 of these apartments sold for prices between $1,750,000 to $2,000,000.

So what can the resale market anticipate for July? In a phrase, more of what happened in June. The central force is affordability, or a lack thereof. That will not change in July, although it might in August. The next Bank of Canada scheduled date for announcing its overnight target date is July 24th. It is anticipated that the Bank will once again reduce its overnight target by another 0.25 percent. This will result in five year mortgage interest rates coming down to around 5 percent. That will probably not be enough to significantly move the resale needle, which means that July and August (which are also seasonally slow months) will not be dissimilar to what the resale market experienced in June. A more aggressive rate cut by the Bank will stimulate the market resulting in a dramatic rise in sales.

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May 2023 Toronto Real Estate Market Report

The April 2024 Market Report concluded with the following forecast for May for the Toronto and Region resale market: “The average sale price will continue to hover around $1,150,000, with sales expected to come in at the 7,000-plus range.” Not surprisingly, May’s results came in as expected. The Toronto and Region achieved 7,013 property sales, and the average sale price came in at $1,165,691. As in previous months, the Toronto and Region resale market has and continues to be constrained by affordability, or more accurately, the lack thereof.

The 7,013 sales achieved in May were almost 28 percent fewer than the 8,960 sales reported last year. Comparisons to last year are not helpful in understanding the current Toronto resale market. Reported sales for May 2023 were the highest achieved in any month last year. The Bank of Canada’s benchmark rate had remained steady at 4.5 percent through the first 5 months of 2023. Buyers had adjusted to borrowing rates and to the extent their household incomes permitted, had enthusiastically entered the resale market. That buying enthusiasm was one of a number of economic factors that caused the Bank of Canada to increase rates in June, and then again in July. By August the resale market was in sharp decline, where it has remained. A decline in reported sales, not demand.

The decline in the average sale price, which was moderate, from $1,195,409 to $1,165,691 was driven by the decline in average sale prices in the 905 region and the 1,942 condominium apartments (almost 30 percent of all report sales) that sold at an average sale price of $730,815. In the City of Toronto, the average sale price for condominium apartments came in higher at $767,064.

In May inventory levels continued to rise. During the month 18,612 new listings came to market, 21 percent more than the 15,363 that came to market last year. By the end of the month there were 21,760 properties available to buyers, more than 83 percent higher than the 11,869 available last year. Although this number appears high by Covid-era comparison, it’s not out of line by historical comparison. For example, in May 2018 active listings totalled 20,919, and in May 2019, the year before the Covid-era disrupted the resale market, there were 20,017 properties available to buyers.

What the year-over-year data does not disclose is the enormous demand in the marketplace. This demand is constrained by a lack of affordability. With Toronto’s average household income before taxes hovering around $110,000 (CMHC) and average sale prices coming in at $1,165,691, many buyers are simply unable to participate in this market. Those that can are still driving a strong, robust resale market.

Throughout the Region, all detached properties sold in only 16 days and for 101 percent of their asking prices. In the City of Toronto, detached properties were reported sold in only 14 days and for 104 percent of their asking prices. The average sale price of all detached property sales in Toronto came in at an eye-popping $1,826,370. Semi-detached properties throughout the Region sold in only 13 days and for 106 percent of their asking prices. In the City of Toronto they similarly sold in only 13 days, but for 107 percent of their asking prices. The average sale price for semi-detached properties in Toronto came in at $1,416,496. Assuming the buyer has saved $284,000 (20 percent of the average-priced semi-detached property), the buyer would need to have a household income of approximately $240,000 in order to qualify for a mortgage of more than $1,100,000. In addition, the buyer would be expected to pay land transfer taxes of almost $50,000. Hence the affordability issue.

Condominium apartment sales continue to lag and act as a drag on the overall market. In May 1,942 condominium apartments were reported sold. On average these apartments took 25 days to sell and at only 99 percent of their asking price. A very different pace than detached and semi-detached property sales. The average sale price for all condominium apartment sales through the Region was $730,000. The poor performance of condominium apartment sales is especially due to affordability. Condominium apartments attract the first-time buyer cohort. First-time buyers, generally with lower household incomes, given prevailing mortgage interest rates and even average sale prices in the $730,000 range, are financially constrained from entering the resale market. It is for that reason the condominium apartment sales are underperforming compared to detached and semi- detached property sales.

As this Market Report was being prepared the Bank of Canada announced a 0.25 percent reduction in its benchmark rate, bringing it to 4.75 percent. The first reduction in four years. No doubt this will help with affordability, but only marginally. Furthermore, since the beginning of 2024 the bond market, and by association the mortgage market, have analyzed and digested current and future economic conditions, and fixed mortgage rates

have likely been priced into the expected Bank of Canada’s rate cut. As a result, there will be very little downward movement in five-year fixed mortgage rates. There will be some downward movement in variable rates.

With all this economic and resale market data at play, we should anticipate similar sales results in June as we saw in May, with some uptick in sales generated by the psychologically improved outlook generated by the Bank of Canada’s rate cut. Separate and apart from the Bank’s rate cut, we will see positive sales variances month-over- month compared to 2023 as we move into the second half of 2024. This is due to the dismal results achieved by the resale market from July through to the end of last year. If the Bank continues with a further rate cut in July the second half of 2024 be substantially stronger than the first half of this year.



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April 2024 Toronto Real Estate Market Report

A number of commentators have focused on April’s negative variances compared to market results achieved in April 2023. Specifically, the fact that sales declined by 5 percent from the 7,114 residential properties that traded hands this year compared to the 7,487 properties reported sold last April.

In addition, heavy emphasis was placed on the number of new listings that came to market and the number of active properties available to buyers at the end of the month. Last year, 11,509 new properties came to market. This April, 16,941 came to market, an increase of more than 47 percent. By month end, there were 18,088 homes available to buyers, almost 75 percent more than the 10,373 properties available last April.

Year-over-year, lower sales and a dramatic increase in supply may give the appearance of a declining market, but a deeper dive into April’s data tells a very different story.

By April of 2023, the Toronto and Region resale market was ascending rapidly. It was ascending so rapidly that in June and July the Bank of Canada, apprehensive as to the strong real estate market’s impact on rising inflation, increased its benchmark rate to 5 percent (where it currently stands). By August, the resale market was in steep descent. That descent has only been reversed during the first four months of 2024. Often, year-over-year comparisons belie and sometimes distort market reality.

Market reality is more accurately reflected by the speed of sales and their sale price as compared to asking prices. In April, all properties reported sold (including condominium apartments), on average, sold at 102 percent of their asking price and in only 19 days. If condominium apartment sales are extracted from the overall numbers, the results are startlingly positive.

In April, all the detached properties that sold in the City of Toronto “flew off the shelf” in only 15 days and at 103 percent of their asking prices. The average sale price for all detached properties in the City of Toronto came in at $1,822,244. More significantly, all detached properties reported sold in Toronto Central, which encompasses some of Toronto’s most expensive neighborhoods, sold in only 18 days and for 100 percent of their asking price. The average sale price for detached property sales in Toronto’s central districts came in at an eye-popping $2,627,700.

Activity in the semi-detached sector was even more robust. All semi-detached properties that became available in the City of Toronto sold for 108 percent of their asking price, and amazingly, in only 12 days. In the 905 Region, activity for semi-detached properties was just as brisk. All sales took place in only 13 days and at 106 percent of asking prices. Semi-detached properties in Toronto’s eastern districts sold at pandemic-level speed. All semi-detached properties sold in only 10 days and at 112 percent of their asking prices. The average sale price for semi-detached homes in April was substantially higher in the City of Toronto than in the 905 Region. The average sale price in the 905 came in at $1,139,929. Furthermore. the average sale price for semi-detached homes in the City of Toronto was almost 20 percent higher, coming in at $1,365,061.

Condominium apartments, the largest segment of available properties, performed poorly in April, acting as a drag on the overall resale market. All condominium apartments that sold in April did so in 26 days, and at only 99 percent of their asking price, a dramatic divergence from detached and semi-detached activity. The average sale price for all condominium apartments sold came in at $728,067. Sales were off by 9.5 percent compared to last April.

Even more concerning is the number of new listings that came to market. In April, 5,542 new condominium apartments came to the market – almost 33 percent of all new inventory. By month end, 7,015 condominium apartments were available to buyers, almost 40 percent of total available inventory.

There are many factors responsible for the disconnect between the condominium apartment market and the ground level market of detached and semi-detached homes. No doubt the increasing inventory represents investor units purchased before or during the pandemic market. With rising financing costs, these units are financially non-performing, and investors are selling to reduce losses. In addition, many thousands of unquantifiable assignment sales are also on the market, competing with listed condominium apartments, resulting in a glut of available inventory.

At first blush, one would conclude that this would be a market opportunity for buyers. Unfortunately, condominium apartments are primarily the homes of choice for first time buyers. Most available apartments are spatially small. Since 2017, all condominium apartments built in Toronto average only 659 square feet. Two decades earlier, they averaged 1,010, still relatively small but quite livable. The same size reduction in units is true for all condominium apartments built in the greater Toronto Region.

These small condominium apartments remain beyond the economic reach of most first-time buyers, many being immigrants without local family support. In Toronto’s central districts, where 63 percent of the City of Toronto’s sales take place, and 41 percent of all condominium apartment sales in the greater Toronto area took place, the average sale price in April was a lofty $829,501. Given today’s mortgage financing costs, a buyer would need a household income of approximately $175,000 to purchase the average price condominium apartment in central Toronto. Canada Mortgage and Housing reports that the average household income in central Toronto is $109,599.

Clearly, the Toronto and Region marketplace is fractured. The ground-level resale market is strong with average sales prices remaining strong, with detached and semi- detached properties selling quickly and for strong sale prices. The rapidity with which ground-level properties sell speaks to the market’s incredible demand, driven by years of population growth due primarily to immigration.

Demand for condominium apartments appears to have waned, primarily due to space constraints as a result of poor, but economically lucrative (for developers), design developments. In addition, for most first-time buyers, even if they were happy to accept these small condominium apartments, at their current price point, they remain unaffordable.

Looking forward, we can expect similar market results in May. The average sale price will continue to hover around $1,150,000, with sales expected to come in at the 7,000 plus range. To some extent the market is in a limbo state, hanging on every statement uttered by the Bank of Canada, waiting for the much-anticipated rate cut. In June? July?

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March 2024 Toronto Real Estate Market Report

March produced the first year-over-year negative variance in 2024. Both January and February saw positive variances. In March 6,560 residential properties of all types were reported sold in the greater Toronto region. Last March 6,868 homes were reported sold, a 4.5 percent decline. This negative variance is misleading and does not accurately reflect how robustly the resale market is performing.


During the first quarter of 2023 the Bank of Canada’s benchmark rate stood at 4.50 percent. Even though it had gradually risen to that number throughout 2022, buyers and sellers had adjusted to the new rate reality, and as a result, the sale of homes in the Toronto region was moving along at a very brisk pace. Too brisk for the Bank of Canada. In June the Bank of Canada once again increased its benchmark rate, this time to 4.75 percent and did so again by another 0.25 percent in July, effectively killing the resale market. The second half of 2023 saw a steady decline in monthly sales, from a high 8,961 in May, before the Bank of Canada began to tighten its monetary policy, to a low of 3,423 reported resales in December.

The higher rates did not come into effect until the summer of 2023. Consequently, reported sales were strong until that time. Sales for March of 2024, although fewer than were reported last March, are actually still strong, beginning to approach historical averages for the month. This happened in the face of the Bank’s 5.0 percent benchmark rate. Once again buyers have adjusted to the prevailing cost of financing and as the resale data in March’s sales activity indicates have re- entered the market in droves. So, as we move through 2024 we should see increased sales every month, particularly if the Bank of Canada begins to reduce its benchmark rate, as is anticipated.


If we extract condominium apartment sales from the market mix the numbers are even more impressive. Detached property sales that sold at an average sale price of $1,308,000 ($1,400,000 in the City of Toronto) sold at 102 percent of their asking price (103 percent in the City of Toronto) in only 17 days. Semi-detached property sales in the region – the sweet spot in the resale market – sold at 107 percent of their asking price (110 percent in the City of Toronto) in an astounding 12 days. In the City of Toronto’s eastern neighbourhoods semi-detached properties sold at 116 percent of their asking price and in only 11 days!


These numbers give rise to two questions. Firstly, if detached and semi-detached properties sold so quickly and above their asking price, why did we not see more sales, and a positive market variance? And secondly, why are condominium apartments, the least expensive housing type available to buyers, not doing well.


Given their price point you would think that condominium apartment sales would do better than the rest of the market? The answer to both questions is the same. Affordability – or lack thereof.


In March the average sale price for all properties sold came in at $1,121,615, 1.3 percent higher than the average sale price of $1,107,018 achieved last March. High average sale prices combined with five-year mortgage interest rates of more than 5 percent, not to mention the mortgage stress tests which add another two percent to buyers’ qualifying ability, take Toronto region properties beyond the affordability capabilities of most buyers. There is voluminous engagement in the market – as the high percentage of sales over asking prices and days on market demonstrate – however most of the buyers in the market are constrained by their household income as it compares to average sale prices.


This problem is even more pronounced for first time buyers who most often are condominium apartment buyers. Even though condominium apartments are the least expensive housing type, the cohort of first-time buyers are, for the most part, buyers with the smallesthousehold incomes. Consequently, in the City of Toronto, where 65 percent of available condominium apartments are located, sales were down by 15.5 percent compared to March 2023, and the average sale price dropped, albeit marginally, to $729,392.


Although supply is increasing it is not doing so at a pace that will dramatically impact the prevailing market dynamics. In March, 13,120 new properties of all types came to market, 15.1 percent more than the 11,394 properties that came to market last year. At the end of March there were only 12,459 homes available to buyers, although higher than last year, still exceptionally low by historical patterns.


Looking ahead to April and the second quarter of 2024 we can anticipate a similar performance to what occurred in March. Sales will continue to increase, but real growth will be constrained by affordability and supply – 47 percent of all available properties at the end of March were condominium apartments, and unfortunately, for the reasons discussed above, the least robust sector of the overall market.






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January 2024 Toronto Real Estate Market Report

This first month of 2024 unfolded as anticipated. As 2023 came to an end, an air of optimism began to spread through the Toronto and Region residential resale market. This optimism was driven by the belief that rate hikes by the Bank of Canada were at an end and rate relief was on its way. This was confirmed in January when the Bank met and held its benchmark rate at 5 percent, but more importantly, and for the first time, indicated that it was already planning for rate cuts - it was just a question of when.


This optimism was reflected in January's resale data. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board reported 4,223 sales for the month. Although not a stellar month, January's sales were 37 percent higher than the 3,083 properties reported sold last year, and 30 percent higher than the 3,435 reported sold in December. The first month-over- month increase since August of 2023.


The average sale price was practically unchanged year- over-year. Last January, the average sale price came in at $1,036,925. This January, it was $1,026,703, a marginal 1 percent decline. The small decline in the average sale price was primarily driven by declining condominium apartment prices in the 905 Region. Year-over-year, they declined by almost 3 percent. Condominium apartment prices in the City of Toronto remained unchanged comingin at $709,419.  The average price for condominium apartments in the 905 Region was $628,375 in January.


A noticeable difference between January 2023 and January 2024 was the length of time properties took to sell. Last year, all properties (on average) sold in just 29 days. This year, that number jumped to 37 days, a substantial 28 percent increase. Even though more buyers purchased homes this January compared to January 2023, they did so deliberately. What is encouraging is that more buyers managed to overcome the affordability challenges that have been restricting the resale market.


Another positive development in the market was the change in availability - although not as dramatic as the change in average days on market. In January, 8,312 new properties came to market - no doubt many of these were relisted properties. Last year, only 7,836 came to market, 6 percent fewer than this year. At the end of January, there were 10,093 homes of all property types available to buyers, 8.5 percent more than the 9,300 available last year.



January's numbers point to improved sales numbers and, no doubt, increasing average sale prices as we move through the year. Buyers took advantage of lower available mortgage interest rates due to lender competition and will become even more active as the economy moves towards Bank of Canada rate cuts, now expected in June. Given the staggering population growth in the Toronto and Region resale marketplace, and the sizeable pent-up demand generated by affordability challenges, all signs point to a very strong resale market for 2024.


It will be interesting to observe what the impact of various legislative changes will have on the City of Toronto's luxury market. Starting in 2024, buyers of high-end real estate will be required to pay egregious land transfer taxes. Buyers of properties having a sale price of over $5 million will be expected to pay a tax of 5.5 percent of the purchase price, 6.5 percent for properties sold over $10 million up to $20 million and 7.5 percent for sales over $20 million. This tax is in addition to the provincial land transfer tax (approximately 2.5 percent of the sale price). A buyer of a $10 million home in the City of Toronto will be expected to pay an eye- popping land transfer tax of $652,950 ($236,475 provincial and $416,475 City of Toronto). In addition, the City of Toronto increased its vacant home tax to 3 percent of the assessed value of properties starting in 2024.


The combined effect of these taxes, in addition to a proposed municipal property tax increase of more than 10 percent, makes the City of Toronto's real estate residential market very expensive compared to other jurisdictions, even within Ontario. These politically motivated measures, though well intentioned, will have the opposite of their intended impact. Toronto is becoming less, not more, affordable.

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December 2023 Toronto Real Estate Market Report

2023 has ended, and from a real estate perspective, it has not been one of the industry’s more shining years. In 2023, only 65,982 resale properties were reported sold for the entire Greater Toronto Area. One would need archeological skills to find a less robust year, as the chart below clearly indicates.




What makes 2022 and 2023 numbers concerning is the fact that population in the Greater Toronto Area has grown by almost 15 percent since 2011. In 2011, the area’s population was 5,593,000. As a result of high levels of immigration, as we enter 2024, the population of the area is now approaching 6,400,000. With growth of almost 1 million people since 2011, and without the impact of the pandemic, first government liquidity, and then the Bank of Canada’s tightening monetary policy, the greater Toronto resale market should be producing 100,000 to 105,000 reported sales annually.


So, what happened in 2022, and more significantly in 2023? Simply stated, affordability was beyond the grasp of most buyers. The Bank of Canada began its benchmark rate hikes in 2022, and then continued in draconic fashion to increase its policy rate in 2023. In July of 2022, the policy rate was 2.50 percent. By July of 2023 it had doubled to 5.00 percent, where it currently remains.


As the Bank of Canada increased its rate, sales began to decline. In early 2023, the Bank did not implement any increases. As a result, in May 8,962 sales were recorded, the highest for any month in 2023. In June and July, the Bank took its policy rate from 4.50 to 5.00, decimating the resale market. What made it worse is that the Bank continued to threaten that more rate increases were possible. In June reported sales dropped to 7,432 and to 5,224 in July. Further declines were reported throughout the remainder of the year, with 3,444 reported in December. Annus horribilis. The cost of borrowing made market accessibility almost impossible for most buyers. Five-year fixed mortgage interest rates were more than 6 percent. In January of 2020, just prior to the pandemic, a five-year fixed rate was trending at approximately 2.89 to 3.09 percent. By March 2022, rates had increased to approximately over 4 percent. As mortgage interest rates continued to increase, the correlation to declining sales volumes was direct and immediate.


What made declining sales worse, (in fact sales volumes in 2023 were reminiscent of sales volumes experienced during the real estate recession of 1990’s), was the fact that average sale prices remained strong, making affordability that much more challenging for buyers.



The average sale price achieved in December of this year was 3.2 percent higher than the average sale price of $1,050,569 achieved last year. There were several factors responsible for this sale price stability.


Although the cost of borrowing increased dramatically over the last two years, these increases had no impact on homeowners who purchased properties through the pandemic. The bulk of mortgage renewals are not scheduled until late 2024 and beyond.


Consequently, supply was not accelerated by mortgage renewals. Secondly, demand has increased. Massive population growth requires housing. Housing is not being built in sufficient numbers, and those that have bought, with favourable mortgage interest rates, are not moving. Moving would mean taking on new mortgage financing at substantially higher rates, in some cases three times their current rate. Within the massive demand cohort there are some who were able to pay the steady prices demanded by sellers, and by doing so, have kept averages sale prices high.


Average sale prices for freehold homes have remained particularly strong. In December, which seasonally is the slowest resale month in the year, the average price for detached properties in the City of Toronto came in at $1,629,980, about the same price they sold for in December 2022. Reflecting the slow down in the resale market they sold for only 97 percent of their asking price, and they were on the market for 31 days. Last December, sale prices were close to 100 percent of list price, and they sold in about 27 days. Semi-detached properties sold for 98 percent of their asking price and in only 28 days and were 1.5 percent higher than last December’s prices. The average sale price for semi-detached properties in December came in at $1,173,171.


It is no surprise that the average sale price for condominium apartments continues to decline. In December, in the City of Toronto the average sale price declined by more than 4 percent to $709,283 and to $780,258 in Toronto’s central core. Condominium apartments are the entry point for most buyers, especially the first-time buyer cohort. This group of potential buyers is most affected by high mortgage borrowing costs. No doubt, investor units are part of this condominium apartment supply inventory. Investor units, particularly if there is any financial distress, involve different pricing and sales dynamics than sales by homeowner sellers.


Although the overall 2023 resale market was bleak, there are some positive indications in December’s resale data. Sales results for December (3,444), although low, were almost 12 percent better than last year’s numbers, the first month since July in which this year’s monthly sales were an improvement over the same month last year. The average sale price remained strong, with only the condominium apartment sector showing continued weakness. In Toronto, sales of detached properties were up by more than 20 percent compared to last December, and sales of semi-detached properties were up by an eye-popping 56 percent compared to last year. Anecdotally, multiple offers were once again appearing for properties in sought- after neighbourhoods. This is no doubt an early indication that some buyers have concluded that the resale market has reached its low point, and that sales and price improvement is about to begin. In December, there was an indication that mortgage interest rates have begun to decline. Lenders are now offering five-year fixed rates as low as 5.75 percent.


Canada’s inflation has held steady at 3.1 percent. This has prompted the Bank of Canada to indicate that its benchmark rate may start to decline in 2024. Most economists are predicting a 0.25 percent decline by the first quarter and 0.75 percent decline by year end. All these factors combined are pointing to a much-improved residential resale market in 2024. Assuming that the first benchmark rate cut will not occur until early in the second quarter, it is anticipated that the first quarter of 2024 will remain slow, not dissimilar to the first quarter of 2023.


Following the first benchmark rate reduction, the market will pick up momentum. That momentum should result in a very strong resale market in the second half of 2024. The average sale price should increase by about 6-8 percent, taking the year-end average sale price to approximately $1,200,000, including condominium apartments. In December 2023, the average sale price was $1,084,692. The annualized average sales price for all properties sold in 2023 was $1,126,604. Sales volumes will also increase in the second half of 2024 to bring 2024’s year end total to approximately 75,000 to 78,000 properties sold. These numbers are far weaker than historical resale norms, however, higher sales volumes will continue to be constrained by affordability challenges, particularly freehold properties (detached and semi-detached). It won’t be utopian, but neither will it be another annus horribilis.

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November 2023 Toronto Real Estate Market Report

To paraphrase T.S. Elliot, the Toronto and Region residential resale marketplace is ending the year not with a bang, but a very quiet whisper. November sales totalled 4,236 homes, down by 6 percent compared to the number of sales reported last November. This is the lowest number of sales reported for November since the economic downturn of 2008. As mentioned in previous market reports, the number of reported sales is particularly low when it is remembered that the Toronto Region’s population has grown by more than 20 percent in the intervening 15 years.


November marked the third consecutive month when total reported sales were less than 5,000. As 2023 comes to an end, there is an uncanny similarity to the way the year 2022 ended after the Bank of Canada implemented its punishing benchmark rate hikes.


Notwithstanding historically low sales numbers, the average sale price for all residential properties sold continues to hold firm and is ending the year stronger than last year’s sale prices for the same period. Over the period of August to November, sales were 6.7 percent higher in 2022, whereas average sales prices are 1.5 percent higher in 2023.


Strong sale prices in the face of declining sales are a market anomaly. There is, however, an explanation for this development. Until recently, supply has remained low. Even in November, only 10,545 new listings came to market, 16.5 percent higher than the 9,053 that came to market last year. At month end, there were only 16,759 properties available to buyers. Although this is an increase from previous months, it is still relatively low by historic standards.


The other side of the equation is demand. With the incredible surge in population growth in the Toronto Region, there are many more potential buyers looking for homes. Unfortunately, these buyers are constrained by a lack of affordability. Five-year fixed mortgage interest rates are over 6 percent, and to qualify, borrowers must pass the prevailing stress test, requiring them to qualify at more than 8 percent. There are, however, buyers that do have money and they are the ones participating in the resale market, keeping prices from falling noticeably. Unfortunately, there simply are not enough of them to push sales numbers higher.


This is most evident in the City of Toronto’s resale numbers. In November, the average price for detached properties came in at $1,617,918, 3.5 percent higher than last November. The same was true for semi-detached properties, wherein sale prices came in at $1,217,811, 2.4 percent higher than last year. Only condominium apartment sales and average sale prices retracted. Condo sales in the City of Toronto were down by 8.2 percent and average sale prices declined by 1.7 percent, to $720,280. Although condominium apartments are the least expensive housing type in Toronto, condominium apartments are the housing form sought out primarily by first time buyers who, regretfully, are financially the most vulnerable purchasing group. Almost 70 percent of all condominium apartment sales take place within the City of Toronto. At the end of November, there were 6,579 condominium apartments available to buyers in Toronto and the surrounding Region. Condominium apartments represent almost 40 percent of the Toronto and Region’s available inventory.


Unless the Bank of Canada eases its monetary policy – which is not expected to happen until at least the second quarter of 2024 – sales will remain low, at their current levels. If inventory increases, as expected, then eventually we will see some decline in average sale prices and a corresponding increase in sales numbers. That scenario is beginning to play out now but won’t be clearly evident until the market passes through the Holiday Season. In November, the months of inventory on market moved up to 2.4 months. In tandem, the sales-to-list ratio for all properties that came to market moved to 46.2 percent, approaching the 40 percent buyers’ market threshold. For the third consecutive month, the sale-to-list price ratio came in at 98 percent and the days on market moved up to 25 days, 13.6 percent higher than the 22 days properties spent on the market in November 2022.


These are all indications of a slowing market, constrained by affordability.


As the year comes to an end, only 62,576 properties have been reported sold. It is unlikely that December sales will substantially exceed 3,000, which means that 2023 will end the year with approximately 65,000 to 66,000 reported sales – a number that we have not seen in more than 2 decades. Last year, 75,049 properties were reported sold in the Toronto Region. Between 2010 and the beginning of the pandemic, yearly sales varied, with reported annual sales generally coming in at 85,000 or more. Between the years 2014 and 2017, sales exceeded 90,000 homes sold, with more than 100,000 properties reported sold in 2015 and 2016, while 2018 was an outlier with only 78,107 sales. That was the year the provincial government implemented the foreign buyer’s tax, which currently rests at 25 percent of the purchase price.


To paraphrase Queen Elizabeth’s 1992 speech… “2023 is shaping up to be a real estate market annus horribilis”

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October 2023 Toronto Real Estate Market Report

In many ways, the Toronto and area residential resale market reflected September’s results in October.  Sales volumes were practically unchanged, further emphasizing how sluggish the market has become and they continued the string of historically low sales numbers for this time of the year.



In October, 4,646 residential properties were reported sold, almost 6 percent fewer than the 4,930 reported sales last year. Year-to-date, 56,367 homes have changed hands. Based on the current pace of sales, the year will finish with about 70,000 reported sales. Aside from 2018, (and of course, 2022, when the Bank of Canada began its draconian rate increases when only 78,017 homes changed hands), we have to go back 2 decades to see such low sales numbers. The low sales volumes in 2018 were due to the implementation of the then Liberal government’s 2017 Ontario Fair Housing Plan.


The Plan introduced a non-resident speculation tax (NRST), and it expanded rent control to all private rental units, including those built after 1991. A government statement at the time boasted that the Plan was designed to “make housing more affordable... to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change”. Since the implementation of the Plan, the NRST has increased from 15 percent to 25 percent of the purchase price of a property. In 2017, the average sale price for properties sold in the greater Toronto area was $822,510. This October, the average sale price for all properties sold came in at $1,125,928, an increase of 37 percent over the last six years. Affordability has clearly not been achieved. A clear indication of the ineffectiveness of government intervention in the residential resale marketplace, particularly when that intervention is politically and not realistically motivated.


Surprisingly the average sale price has continued to rise while sales volumes have declined.



Early in the year, the average sale price had strengthened. Buyers acted confidently during the Bank of Canada’s lull in benchmark rate hikes. Once the Bank again started to implement rate hikes in June and July, the average sale price dropped to a low in August. Since August, the average sale price has once again strengthened. In October, the Bank held its benchmark rate at 5 percent. It is clear that the Toronto and area real estate market dances to whatever tune the Bank of Canada plays.


Toronto’s strong average sale price is one of the few positive signs in the resale market. In October, for the first time in many months, the average-sale-to list price came in at 99 percent (although in the City of Toronto it came in at 100 percent) for all properties sold. Since late 2020, the sales-to-list ratio has always exceeded 100 percent. The sales-to-list ratio was also much lower than we have seen since the depths of the Covid pandemic. In October, the sales-to-list ratio for the greater Toronto market was 47.3 percent. It was lower in the City of Toronto, coming in at 45.8 percent, due to sluggish condominium apartment sales. Before the Bank of Canada began implementing its punishing policy rates, the sales-to-list ratio was around 70 percent.


What is interesting is that properties that do sell are not spending lengthy periods of time on the market before being reported sold. In October, (on average) all properties (including condominium apartments) spent only 21 days on market: exactly the same number of days as October 2022. Depending on housing type and location, some properties were “flying off the shelf”. For example, detached properties in the City of Toronto all sold in 17 days, and for 100 percent of their asking price. Semi-detached properties all sold in 13 days and for 103 percent of their asking price.


Condominium apartment sales were not nearly as robust. Across the region, it took 26 days for condominium apartments to sell. They sold at 98 percent of their asking price. The average sale price came in at $729,160, almost 2 percent lower than last year. This is not surprising given that of the 8,535 listed properties available for sale in the City of Toronto, 4,825, or 57 percent, are condominium apartments.


Going forward, rising inventory levels may begin to erode the strong, prevailing average sale prices that are being achieved. In October, 14,397 new properties came to market, a 38 percent increase compared to the 10,433 that came to market at the same time last year. These new homes that came to market have increased available inventory levels to 19,540 properties, more than 50 percent higher than the 13,019 properties available last year. It is anticipated that a large number of five-year term mortgages will be coming due in 2024 and 2025. If the current high mortgage rates stay in play – five-year term mortgage interest rates are currently slightly more than 6 percent – no doubt some renewing borrows will be forced to sell and perhaps even go into default. In October, Canada’s main banking regulator directed banks to hold more capital against mortgages that have seen their repayment terms extend beyond their original terms owing to the pace of interest rate hikes. A cautious step to contain risks that are building in Canada’s mortgage market.


Interest rates and affordability are driving, or rather controlling, the Toronto and area marketplace. The Bank of Canada’s pause in October was highly welcomed by consumers and particularly mortgage borrows and buyers. For the market to pick up, even to pre-Covid levels, the Bank of Canada will have to reduce rates. The pent-up demand can not wait for that to happen. As it stands, it is a fractured market, with strength in some areas – price, depending on housing type and location – but weaknesses in others – sales volumes.



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September 2023 Toronto Real Estate Market Report

The Toronto and Region residential resale marketplace is, to say the least, confusing. The numbers reported by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board depict a market in the doldrums with sales volumes having declined for 4 consecutive months, reaching levels more consistent with sales volumes achieved more than two decades ago when the greater Toronto area had a population almost half of what it has today.



Although there is some seasonality in these numbers, August and now September’s performance is low beyond any seasonal impact. 


What we also see in September is a sharp increase in residential inventory. In September 16,258 homes became available for sale. This represents a 44.1 percent increase compared to the 11,281 properties that came to market last year. As we begin October buyers have 18,912 properties to choose from, almost a 40 percent increase compared to the mere 13,529 that were available to buyers last year. About 35 percent of the market’s active inventory is condominium apartments. 


Historically this scenario, low sales volumes and dramatically increasing available inventory, would mean only one thing - falling average sale prices. But that is not what is happening. Surprisingly average sale prices are strengthening, notwithstanding that almost 40 percent of the available inventory is condominium apartments and townhouses.



In September the average sale price came in at $1,119,428, 3 percent higher than the average sale price achieved last September ($1,086,538). More significantly September’s average sale price for all properties sold (including condominium apartments and townhouses) was 3.5 percent higher than the average sale price of $1,082,569 achieved in August.


There is no precedent for these market conditions. No doubt because no market in the past has come through a pandemic, enormous government stimulus, inflation, and then a draconian monetary policy implemented by the Bank of Canada. Added to this incredible mix of extreme economic and social factors is soaring population growth driven by immigration. In 2022, Canada’s population grew by more than 1 million people, many finding their way to southern Ontario. Canada sent 17,145 new permanent residents and express entry draws in September alone (Immigration News Canada).


If we dig a little deeper into the numbers we see that detached and semi-detached properties are selling at a ferocious pace. All detached properties in the City of Toronto sold in a mere 16 days and at 101 percent of their asking price. The average sales price was $1,724,007. All semi-detached homes sold in an eye-popping 11 days at 106 percent of their asking price. The average sale price for all semi-detached properties reported sold was $1,281,956.


Not surprisingly condominium apartments did not move at the same pace. A typical condominium apartment took 25 days to sell and at only 99 percent of its asking price. The average price for all condominium apartments sold was $732,106. Based on the number of available condominium apartments in Toronto (4,539) and the number of reported sales (850), this equates to almost 5.5 months of inventory.


So what do we make of these numbers? Put simply it is a market of “haves and haves not”. Population growth has created demand. Supply, while growing, is still low, particularly in the detached and semi-detached sectors. Within the demand sector, there are those buyers who can, notwithstanding the prevailing high financing costs, afford to purchase detached and semi-detached properties that become available. They do so quickly and often pay over the asking price. Regretfully the number of buyers that fall into the “haves” is small, hence the declining monthly sales. Financing costs are turning most aspiring buyers into “haves not”. Most of the latter look to condominium apartments, the least expensive housing type available to buyers. That’s why condominium apartments are taking longer to sell and do so below their asking prices.


Dejardins recently completed a study of the prevailing resale market. It concluded that the market could go in one of three ways. An early 1990’s restructuring, with declining sales volumes and average sale prices over a protracted period of time. A mild recessionary market with average sale prices declining moderately by about 6 percent. Or a market in constant stress between supply and demand in the face of painful mortgage financing. In this market scenario sales would decline but prices will, because of the demand, continue to rise, albeit moderately.


It appears that we have entered the third market scenario. Early October numbers at least for now, to confirm this assessment.


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August 2023 Toronto Real Estate Market Report

There were no surprises in the residential resale data for the month of August. As forecast in last month’s Report, while the benchmark rate of the Bank of Canada remains at its lofty rate – it is currently 5.0 percent – and the average sale price for all properties sold, although declining, is still high, sales volumes will remain low. And that is what happened in August.


During the month of August, only 5,294 residential properties were reported sold. In July, 5,245 properties were reported sold. Compared to August of last year, sales declined by 5.2 percent. In August of 2022, 5,584 properties were sold. Declines in sales volume were particularly noticeable in the case of detached (minus 12 percent) and semi-detached properties (minus 14.4 percent) across the region. By comparison, condominium apartment sales volumes increased by 7.6 percent compared to last August. These numbers are clearly a reflection of the affordability barriers impacting buyers.


The average sale price of detached ($1,416,366) and semi-detached ($1,067,980) properties is almost double the average sale price of condominium apartments. In August, the average sale price of condominium apartments throughout the region was $705,572. It was slightly higher in the City of Toronto, coming in at $724,549, and $760,485 in the City’s central core, where 63 percent of all condominium apartment sales take place.


Once again, the sales of detached and semi-detached properties that took place did so at a pace and at sales- to-list ratios that are more consistent with a classic robust market, notwithstanding the low sales volumes. In the City of Toronto, all detached properties sold in 18 days and at 101 percent of their asking price. Semi-detached properties moved even faster. All sales took place in only 13 days and for 105 percent of their list price. In Toronto’seastern districts, all semi-detached properties sold in only 11 days and at 107 percent of their asking price. In isolation, these sales numbers would reflect a resale market that’s on fire.


Underlining this performance are several factors. Firstly, although supply improved in August, it is still historically low. During the month of August, 12,296 properties came to market, 16.2 percent more than the 10,578 homes that came to market for the same time last year. The increase in inventory remains historically low. Secondly, demand remains extremely high. This is due primarily to much higher population levels as a result of the tremendous increase in immigration. In August alone, Canada welcomed 100,000 new immigrants, at least half making their way to southern Ontario. Thirdly, mortgage interest rates, coupled with 2 percent stress testing, make the purchase of detached and semi-detached properties at their current price points prohibitive. Essentially, what this data is telling us is that demand is high, but few buyers can afford Toronto real estate. Those who can buy, are buying quickly, and paying above the seller’s asking price.


Condominium apartments are the only housing type that is showing rising sales volumes. In August, condominium apartment sales (1,086) increased by 6.5 percent compared to August 2022. In the 905 region condominium sales (523) increased by 10.17 percent. These are properties that buyers can afford.


Given the fact that we are unlikely to see a decline in the Bank of Canada’s benchmark rate until the middle of 2024, in fact, we may experience an increase before that time, and given the fact that household incomes are not increasing dramatically, we may be in the early stages of a market restructuring. (In 2021 the median economic family income in Toronto was $106,000. City of Toronto Census Study). A market restructuring took place in the early 1990s and there are indications that we may be about to re-experience that era.


From 1985 to the spring of 1989, average sales prices in the Toronto region increased by an eye-popping 113 percent. During this period, there were factors at play that were not dissimilar to today, particularly tremendous demand. Even though mortgage interest rates were much higher than they are today, there was an unmitigated belief that wealth could only be achieved and preserved by buying and owning real estate. As a result, there was a market frenzy, not unlike the height of the pandemic. It was this frenzy that caused prices to escalate by 113 percent in a mere 4 years.


In 1989, interest rates increased to 12.29 percent, and then to 13.04 in 1990. These increases and their negative economic impact brought Toronto’s resale market to a halt. Average sale prices began to decline and continued to do so for more than 6 years. At their peak in 1989, the average sale price for a Toronto home was $273,698. By 1996, the average sale price had slid to $195,169, a decline of 28.5 percent.


The decline in sales volumes and average sales prices came to an end in 1996 because by 1996, mortgage interest rates had fallen to 4.53 percent (Statistics Canada). The confluence between lower average sale prices and mortgage interest rates made real estate in the Toronto region once again affordable. Because ofpersistently low mortgage interest rates, it has remained affordable, until the Bank of Canada commenced its benchmark rate hikes in March of 2022. We have seen 10 rate increases since then.


If the cost of borrowing remains high, we may have to wait until the confluence of lower average sale prices and lower borrowing costs connect to drive an increase in sales volumes, as occurred in 1996. The demand is certainly there, and growing, as Canada’s latest immigration numbers attest. In future reports, we will monitor this data to determine if we are indeed into a similar market restructuring as occurred more than 30 years ago.



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July 2023 Toronto Real Estate Market Report

On a year-over-year basis, July’s residential resale market results were quite favourable. The 5,250 sales reported were almost 8 percent higher than the 4,870 properties reported sold last July. The average sale price for all properties sold came in at $1,118,374, a 4.2 percent improvement compared to the average sale price of $1,073,213 achieved in July last year. Even days-on-market improved by 10.5 percent, from 19 to 17 days this July.


However, by July 2022, the Bank of Canada had implemented 4 increases taking the benchmark rate from 0.25 percent to 2.50 in only four months. Although more rate hikes were on their way, by July of last year the resale landscape had changed dramatically and negatively. Sales were grinding to a halt and the average sale price was plummeting. In February of 2022, the average sale price was $1,334,000, and by July the average price had declined to $1,073,000. The decline in sales was even more dramatic in March 2022, where 10,861 homes were reported sold, and by July that number had declined to 4,870, a shocking 55 percent.


The real story is what has happened to the resale market since May of this year when, in its wisdom, the Bank of Canada once again decided to increase its benchmark rate. Having increased its rate 8 times since March of 2022, it raised its rate both in June (0.25 percent) and in July (another 0.25 percent), bringing the benchmark rate to 5 percent - the highest it has been in more than 20 years. As sales and average sale prices declined through the second half of 2022, sales and average sale prices have declined since the Bank of Canada has begun to increase rates once again in June and July of 2023, an unsettling similarity to what happened in 2022.




The decline in reported sales since May is 42 percent, with a decline of 30 percent when July sales are compared to those of June of this year. These results unequivocally indicate how powerful the impact of Federal monetary policy is on the real estate market. Interestingly, the decline in average sale prices, which has also taken place, is not nearly as dramatic as the decline in sales. Compared to a 42 percent decline in sales, the 3 percent decline in average sale prices is negligible.


Ironically, the decline in reported sales and average sale prices is not an indication of a weak market. Rather, it reflects affordability, or stated more accurately, the lack of affordability. Each rate hike that the Bank of Canada implements makes it that much harder for buyers and in many instances removes them from the market. Those buyers that have the financial ability are still engaged and continue to drive the market in ways that appear to be incongruous with sales and average sale price numbers.


In July, all 5,250 properties reported sold were contracted after only 17 days on market (on average), while all properties sold for 102 percent of their asking price. In the City of Toronto, properties sold for 103 percent of their asking price. Detached properties in the City of Toronto, which had an average sale price of $1,641,000, sold at 102 percent of their asking price, whereas semi- detached properties ($1,257,000) sold for 108 percent of their asking price. In Toronto’s eastern districts, semi- detached properties sold for an eye-popping 113 percent of their asking price and in only 11 days. These numbers reflect a market that is extremely robust. Unfortunately, because of a lack of affordability generated by the Bank of Canada, some buyers simply can’t participate in it.


If these conditions persist – that is if the Bank of Canada continues to implement further increases to its benchmark rate – there is likely to be further compression of average sale prices. To date, the market has seen no forced or panic selling by homeowners. If high rates persist deep into 2024, more properties will come to market as homeowners are forced to deal with the prevailing high mortgage interest rates on the renewal of their mortgage. There is some, though scant, evidence that this may have happened in July where 13,412 new properties came to market, 11.5 percent higher than the 12,294 that came to market in July of 2022. At the beginning of August, there were 15,371 homes available to buyers, slightly more than the 15,329 available last year. The significance of this 0.3 percent increase is that it is the first positive variance, year-over-year, that we have seen since the beginning of the pandemic.


As we move into August and the second half of 2023, current market conditions will persist unless the Bank of Canada weighs in and either increases or decreases its benchmark rate. Considering that Canada’s Consumer Price Index was only 2.8 percent in June, following a 3.4 percent increase in May, and with the economy showing signs of weakness, it is unlikely (we hope) that the Bank will implement any new increases. That means that those buyers that have the financial ability to engage in this market will continue to do so but in fewer numbers. If more properties come to market, we will see increased pressure on average prices, as buyers have, for the first time in years, more choice.



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June 2023 Toronto Real Estate Market Report

June was the first month since January when both sales and average sale prices declined, as compared to the month before. June saw 7,481 reported residential resales as compared to almost 9,000 sales in May. The average sales price dropped moderately from $1,195,929 for the Greater Toronto Area as compared to the price of $1,182,120 in May.



Notwithstanding these declines, the market remains exceptionally strong, with demand continuing to outstrip supply. The decline can be attributed to a number of factors. These include a return to the historical seasonal declines in June (distorted during the pandemic), and the lack of supply. In June, only 15,865 new properties came to market. This was three percent fewer than the 16,353 that came to market last year. At the end of the month, there were only 14,107 homes available to buyers (more than 12 percent fewer than last year). Given the incredible growth in the Greater Toronto’s population, at least 20,000 properties should be available to buyers to even begin to reflect a balanced marketplace, if not many more.


Affordability is the main issue impacting the resale market. In June, after a five-month pause, the Bank of Canada raised its overnight rate to 4.75 percent, the highest it has been since 2001. Unfortunately, the Bank has given every indication that it will once again increase its benchmark rate in July. The consensus amongst Canadian economists is that the rate will go to five percent. This will have a further dampening effect on the resale market, as most buyers are already struggling with affordability. As it is, buyers in the Greater Toronto Area need a 20 percent down payment ($236,424) and a household income of more than $250,000 to buy the average-priced property in the Greater Toronto Area.


Even with these staggering high costs of housing, the Toronto and region resale market remains surprisingly resilient. In June, all properties reported sold were on the market for only 14 days. Last year properties were on the market for 15 days. Not only did they sell quickly, but they all sold for an eye-popping 104 percent of their asking price. These numbers include all condominium apartment sales. Sales of detached and semi-detached properties in the City of Toronto sold even faster, in 11 and 10 days, respectively. All semi-detached properties in the City of 

Toronto’s eastern districts sold in a mere 7 days for an astounding 118 percent of their asking price. These are incredible numbers given the high cost of detached and semi-detached properties in the City of Toronto and in the 905 region.




There are still a few communities in the 905 where the average sale price is under $1 Million but they are becoming a rarity and generally located in the outer sectors of the region.


The strength in the resale market is due to a combination of population growth and the lack of supply. In June alone, Canada’s population increased by 84,000 due to immigration. Almost half of those immigrants will relocate to southern Ontario. Last year 227,235 immigrants arrived in Ontario. British Columbia, the next highest destination for new immigrants, saw only 83,200 relocating to the Province (Source: © Statista 2023).


If the Bank of Canada increases the benchmark rate as is expected in July, sales will continue to decline throughout the region, although, given the demand, average sale prices will only moderately decline. For the time being, there are no forced sales due to financing problems, and hopefully, the benchmark rate will begin to decline before that becomes a problem that the resale market will have to face. It is anticipated that the benchmark rate will begin to decline in 2024, although any declines will be moderate. The day of two-percent mortgage interest rates that propelled the resale market through the pandemic will become a distant, and no doubt longed for, memory.


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