Jan 16 / 2024
Short and medium-term outlooks for the GTA
Most economists agree the Bank of Canada is finished hiking. Wednesday’s decision underscores the communication challenge policymakers face in 2024.
Nov 1 / 2023
Short and medium-term outlooks for the GTA
The short and medium-term outlooks for the GTA housing market are very different. In the short term, the consensus view is that borrowing costs will remain elevated until mid-2024, after which they will start to trend lower. This suggests that we should start to see a marked uptick in demand for ownership housing in the second half of next year, as lower rates and record population growth spur an increase in buyers.
MAY 25 / 2023
Real estate prices have rebounded somewhat in 2023 after plummeting throughout most of 2022.
While nowhere near approaching price gains seen through 2021 and the beginning of 2022, the average sale price for all dwelling types combined has risen every month so far in 2023.
According to the sales data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), the average combined sale price has risen 10.8 per cent to $1,088,311 since hitting a near two-year low of $981,920 in December.
Despite prices increasing somewhat through the first few months of year, on a year-over-year basis the average combine sale price for all dwelling types remain down 12.3 per cent compared to April 2022’s monthly average of $1,241,658.
Brampton’s real estate market peaked at a combined average of $1,367,444 in January 2022 and remains down 20.4 per cent since hitting that high-water mark.“In line with TRREB’s outlook and recent consumer polling results, we are seeing a gradual improvement in sales and average selling price. Many buyers have come to terms with higher borrowing costs and are taking advantage of lower selling prices compared to this time last year,” said TRREB president Paul Baron in the organization’s data analysis.
All four major market segments — detached, semi-detached, townhouse-style condos and apartment condos — have seen modest price gains this year.Brampton detached homes ended 2022 with a December average sale price of $1,142,193, which marked a 30.8 per cent drop compared to the market peak of $1,652,088 set in January 2021.
Since December, the average price for detached units has increased 10.4 per cent to $1,261,074 in April. Year over year, the average detached home price remains down 14.5 per cent compared to last April.
Likewise, the average price for semi-detached homes has seen modest gains since hitting a 22-month low of $899,291 in December. While still down 9.3 per cent year over year compared to last April, the average price for semi-detached units has risen 13.2 per cent since December to $1,018,211 last month — the first time that average has hit seven figures since June 2022.
Price increases in Brampton’s condo market so far this year have been much more subdued.
The average price for townhouse-style condos came in at $734,199 for April. That was down 11.9 per cent compared to April 2022’s average of $833,411 but represented a 9.5 per cent increase compared to January’s 17-month low of $670,262.
Apartment condos are the only market segment that didn’t hit a 2023 high in April. The average price for apartment condos in Brampton in April was $573,085, which was down slightly from January’s average of $573,982. Year over year, condo prices were down 13 per cent compared to April 2022’s average of $658,500.
“As demand for ownership housing has picked up relative to supply, we are seeing renewed upward pressure on home prices. For a short period of time, higher borrowing costs trumped the impact of the constrained housing supply in the GTA. Renewed competition between buyers is once again shining the spotlight on the persistent lack of listings and resulting impact on affordability,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.
MAY 05 /2023
The second half of 2023 will see a slow increase in home sales and competition between buyers with “renewed upward pressure” on home prices in the GTA, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) said in its "2023 Market Outlook & 2022 Year in Review" report.
It describes these circumstances as a year punctuated by two halves.
According to the agency, the first half will mimic the fall of 2022, with lingering impacts from higher borrowing costs and continuing economic uncertainty pushing down home prices and sales.
However, it cites recent Ipsos polling, which found 28 per cent of respondents indicating that they would consider purchasing in the coming year, as signs that buying intentions are coming back to the market.
MAY 10 / 2023
Toronto home prices rise for third straight month as average tops $1.15 million
Prices climb 4%, sales up 9% from month before
The average price of a home in the Greater Toronto Area rose four per cent month-over-month to $1.153 million in April, according to data from the TREB. Still, prices remain below the $1.25 million average posted in April 2022. The number of homes exchanging hands also rose by about nine per cent to 7,531 month-over-month, but remained down just over five per cent from a year ago.
The aggressive pace of interest rate hikes has kept many would-be buyers on the sidelines, but market data for spring –— typically a busy time for home buying — so far reveals that some prospective buyers are getting back in the game at a time when supply is still low and fewer listings are hitting the market.
In an interview, TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer said a lot of those households that initially put their decision to purchase on hold have recalibrated and adjusted to current higher interest rates, either by pursuing different types of homes, different parts of the Greater Toronto Area or a combination of both, as they move back into the market.
