Condo Sales Surge in GTA Resale Market
By Lucas on Jul 07, 2015
The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) just announced that the number of resale transactions broke record highs for the third month in a row, making the second quarter of 2015 the highest selling second quarter on record.
There were 11,992 home sales reported by GTA REALTORS through the MLS system in June 2015, which is a year-over-year increase of 18.4%. “As I begin my term as TREB President, I think it is important to point out that our region continues to grow in response to our diverse economic, ethnic and cultural bases,” says TREB’s new president Mark McLean. “The GTA consistently receives international accolades as one of the best places in the world to live and do business. As the number of households grow, many of them will take advantage of the diversity of affordable home ownership opportunities that exist in Toronto and the surrounding areas.”
Sales of all home types increased, with the sale of detached homes going up 18.3% compared to June 2014, and the sale of townhomes going up 19.1%. The largest jump in sales goes to condominiums. With a total of 2,700 sales last month, condo sales jumped 22.4% compared to the same period last year.
“It is encouraging to see that new listings have edged upward so far this year, as homeowners have reacted to strong home price growth and have looked to take advantage of increased equity in their homes,” says Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis. “However, the annual rate of sales growth continues to far outstrip listings growth, which means that there remains a lot of willing buyers in the marketplace who haven’t found a home that meets their needs. As long as this situation persists, expect home prices to trend strongly upward.”
According to TREB, listings in the resale market have picked up this year, but demand is still so strong that prices are jumping just as much as sales. For example, the average price of a detached home in the 416 region went up 14.2% to $1,051,912, and the average selling price of a detached home jumped even more in the 905 region, rising 15% to $738,016. All the home types saw similar price growth, except for condos, which grew a healthy 6.3% to an average selling price of $390,894.
Will the GTA’s resale market keep breaking records through the summer? Time will tell! Stay tuned for the new home sales figures which will be released by BILD and RealNet later this month.
