Demand for detached houses in Toronto rebounds with a bang: February TRREB Report

It’s been a slower couple of years for house sales in the Greater Toronto Area; demand for higher-priced detached options struggled after the Ontario Fair Housing Plan was announced in April 2017, and then tighter mortgage rules were introduced in January 2018. Year-over-year growth was sluggish, especially in the 905-area markets. Even in the City of Toronto, where prices grew below inflation, and then often declined.

Well, that period is officially over — detached houses are back in demand, and sold house prices in Toronto are growing rapidly.

Toronto house pricing soaring

Single-family home prices in Toronto jumped 14.4% to $1,485,304 in the 416 this February from 2019. In the 905 home prices are also up. According to data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), the 905 is up 13.7% to $1,113,918.

“As market conditions tightened over the past year, competition between buyers has clearly increased,” states the board.

Condo prices are also up. But, as buyers seek less-expensive types of homes, their growth should sustain. Toronto apartments for sale surged 18% to $722,675, while condo units in the suburbs posted incredible gains of 19.3% to $534,688.

Why are home prices going up? 

One reason is because inventory is at near-historic lows, which is shaping up to be a long-term trend.

 “New listings amounted to 10,613 in February 2020, a 7.9 per cent increase compared to February 2019. This moderate annual growth rate was much smaller than that reported for sales, which means market conditions tightened considerably over the past year,” TRREB says.

Sales increased by 45.6% to 7,256 transactions in February 2020 — a stunning leap from February 2019. But, sales were at 10-year low last February, so it seems more that the market recovered from a slump, as opposed to reaching new heights. Sales are still below the 2017 record.

The average price for all property types across TRREB rose 16.7% to $910,290 year over year — the highest annual growth seen since the peak days of 2016 and early 2017.

For more information on this month’s housing market, check out the infographic below:

Zoocasa is a full-service brokerage that offers advanced online search tools to empower Canadians with the data and expertise they need to make more successful real estate decisions. View real estate listings at zoocasa.com or download our free iOS app