Condo sales drop in second quarter 2017
By Lucas on Jul 25, 2017
The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) released its second quarter 2017 condominium market statistics, announcing an overall drop in sales across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) compared to the second quarter 2016.
In the second quarter 2017 (April to end of June), there were 8,223 condo sales reported through the MLS system, which an 8% year-over-year drop. While sales decreased, new listings went up by 0.7% for a total of 13,682.
Overall, condo sales dropped in every region of the GTA. The most sales were in the City of Toronto with 5,878, down from 6,291 last year. Peel Region had the second most sales with 1,153, practically unchanged from last year’s 1,171. While sales stayed the same in Peel, the average price went up by nearly $100,000 to $403,977.
“Despite the recent dip in overall GTA home sales, the condominium apartment market was quite resilient, especially when compared to low-rise market segments,” says TREB President Tim Syrianos. “Condo apartment sales accounted for a greater share of overall transactions during the spring compared to the same period last year. Market conditions also remained tight, which resulted in the continuation of strong annual rates of price growth.”
The average selling price of a resale condo unit in the GTA in the second quarter 2017 went up 28.1% to $532,032. The average in Toronto was $566,513, which is more than $123,000 higher than the same period last year.
“Recent consumer survey results from Ipsos suggest that condominium apartments will continue to gain in popularity with homebuyers over the next year,” says Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis. “This makes sense given that many households, especially first-time buyers looking to live in the City of Toronto, have turned their attention in increasing numbers to less expensive forms of ownership housing.”
Don’t let the average price in the $500,000s scare you, first-time buyers. It’s just an average. There are definitely condo units in the mid to high $200,000s and low to mid $300,000s, even right downtown Toronto. Though, you may need to shop the new condo market to find a wider selection of prices like this.
A couple examples we can think of off the top of our heads would be DuEast Condominiums in Regent Park by Daniels and YongeParc2 in Richmond Hill by Pemberton Group.
Will condo prices in the resale market continue to rise until the end of 2017 or will we see a slowdown as buyers and sellers take a step back to watch the effects of the province’s Fair Housing Plan? Time will tell!
