On April 7, 2022, the federal government announced the details of its 2022 budget. Housing affordability is a major consideration of this budget and, as such, the federal government is proposing to take numerous actions targeted at housing and the real estate sector. A summary of key items is provided below.
There were almost 11,000 Greater Toronto Area (GTA) home sales reported in March 2022, capping off the third-best March and second-best first quarter on record. Tight market conditions continued to support a double-digit annual pace of price growth, with an average selling price of $1.3 million. The average selling price dipped slightly month-over-month, bucking the regular seasonal trend.
February home sales were down compared to the all-time record in 2021, but represented the second-best result for the month of February in history. New listings dropped, but by a marginally lesser annual rate than sales, pointing to a modest move to a slightly more balanced market. Competition between buyers, however, remained tight enough to support double-digit price growth year-over-year.
Each year, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) grants scholarship awards to high school students pursuing post-secondary education. Starting this year, two new third-place awards of $2,000 and two new fourth-place awards of $1,500 have been added to the current two $5,000 first-place and two $2,500 second-place scholarships.
For those planning to buy new homes or condo preconstruction properties. Be aware. Builders in Florida are inserting two types of cancellation clauses: an escalation clause that says they can raise the home price if material costs go up significantly, or a duration clause that states the builder can cancel if they are unable to start construction within six months. Similar clauses relating to builder financing have also been used in Ontario in the past to cancel contracts. Be sure to raise these issues with your real estate agent and lawyer and have them review all contracts carefully before going firm.
Demand for ownership housing remained very strong from a historic perspective in January 2022. At the same time, listings remained in short supply, resulting in tight market conditions and very strong year-over-year price growth.
There were 5,636 sales reported through the TRREB MLS® System in January 2022 – down by 18.2 per cent compared to 6,888 sales in January 2021. While sales were down substantially compared last year’s record result, the January 2022 result was the second best in history for the month. This result is in line with TRREB’s forecast for a strong sales result in 2022, but off the 2021 record.
A record 121,712 sales were reported through TRREB’s MLS® System in 2021 – up 7.7 per cent from the previous 2016 high of 113,040 and up 28 per cent compared to 2020. Record demand last year was up against a constrained supply of listings, with new listings up by 6.2 per cent – a lesser annual rate than sales. The result was extremely tight market conditions and an all-time high average selling price of $1,095,475 – an increase of 17.8 per cent compared to the previous 2020 record of $929,636.
Home sales reached a new record for the month of November and the average selling price also reached a new all-time high. New listings were down substantially compared to last year for all market segments – further highlighting the inherent supply issue across all home types in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
GTA REALTORS® reported 9,017 home sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in November 2021 – 3.3 per cent above the November 2020 result, setting a new record. In contrast, new listings were down by 13.2 per cent year-over-year, with double-digit declines for low-rise home types, and condominium apartments.
As a boutique International REALTOR®, I provide a modern full-service approach to discernible clients. My goal is to obtain the best price for my clients based on the current market. I use a consulting approach rather than aggressive sales tactics and I ensure that my clients have a thorough understanding of the real estate process. For high-profile clients that value confidentiality, I can also provide a discretionary approach to the purchase or sale of your property.
Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) reached the second-highest level on record for the month of October. However, the inventory of homes for sale did not keep up with demand. The number of new listings was down by approximately one-third compared to October 2020. Market conditions tightened across all major home types compared to last year, and the annual rate of average price growth remained in the double digits, including for the resurgent condominium apartment segment.