The average price of a detached home in the GTA has barely changed since a year ago

October 2019 proved to be a strong month for the Greater Toronto Area’s resale market, with home sales and prices still climbing, while new listings continued to drop. 

According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, there were 8,491 home sales reported through the GTA’s MLS system, which is 14% higher than a year ago. Sales increased year-over-year for all housing types, and most of the sales were of detached homes and condo units.

There were 3,960 detached home sales in the GTA in October 2019, up 19.6% from a year ago. Condo units accounted for 2,219 of the October sales, up more than 5% from the same month in 2018. 

While sales increased across the board, new listings fell 9.6%. As sales growth continues to outpace new listings growth, the resale market remains tight, leading to strong price growth. 

“All levels of government affecting the GTA plus many international organizations have recognized that we continue to face a supply issue in our region for all types of housing,” says TREB CEO John Di Michele. “TREB looks forward to continuing its work with policy makers at all levels to bring more supply online, which will help ensure a sustainable pace of price and rent growth over the longer term.”

The average selling price for all home types in the GTA in October 2019 increased 5.5% year-over-year to $852,142. The average price of a detached home jumped 3% to $1,049,300, and condos soared 9.6%, averaging $617,419. 

“As market conditions in the GTA have steadily tightened throughout 2019, we have seen an acceleration in the annual rate of price growth,” says Jason Mercer, TREB’s Chief Market Analyst. “While the current pace of price growth remains moderate, we will likely see stronger price growth moving forward if sales growth continues to outpace listings growth, leading to more competition between home buyers.”

Year-to-date, the average price was $816,105 and there were 76,413 sales as of the end of October 2019. A year ago, the YTD average price was $790,031 with 68,064 sales. The YTD average price of a detached home has barely changed, finishing October 2019 at $1,012,367, and the YTD average price of a condo unit went up 5.7% to $583,642. 

“During the recent federal election, some parties committed to more flexibility on the mortgage lending front, including the reintroduction of a 30-year amortization period for insured mortgages and more flexibility in the application of the OSFI mortgage stress test,” adds TREB President Michael Collins. “These and other housing-related policy options should be brought forth in the new minority parliament.”