Real Estate Market Watch January 2021

With the advent of COVID-19, including severe public health restrictions and uncertainty shrouding the economy, Greater Toronto Area still managed to have a spectacular number of more than 95,000 home sales in 2020. In addition, average home selling price peaked historic record of almost $930,000.

Some major real estate market highlights from 2020 for GTA include:

• 95,151 home sales went through TRREB’s mls system. This is up by 8.4 per cent in comparison to 2019 and set a record statistics for the month of December with 7,180 sales giving into a year-over-year increase of 64.5 per cent.
• Annual sales growth was fierce in the GTA regions around Toronto, especially for single-family home categories.
• The average home selling price set a new record of $929,699. This is up by 13.5 per cent compared to 2019. And included an average price of $932,222 in December which is a year-over-year increase of 11.2 per cent. The strongest average price growth was seen for single-family homes in the suburban regions of the GTA.
• Following a stagnant market activity between mid-March and towards the end of May, real estate market conditions improved drastically in the second half of the year and showed multiple consecutive months of record sales and average selling prices.

“While the housing market as a whole recovered strongly in 2020, there was a dichotomy between the single-family market segments and the condominium apartment segment. The supply of single-family homes remained constrained resulting in strong competition between buyers and double-digit price increases. In contrast, growth in condo listings far-outstripped growth in sales. Increased choice for condo buyers ultimately led to more bargaining power and a year-over-year dip in average condo selling prices during the last few months of the year,” said Jason Mercer, TRREB Chief Market Analyst.

On the other hand, Lisa Patel, TREB President stated “The Greater Toronto Area housing market followed an unfamiliar path in 2020. Following the steep COVID-induced drop-off in demand during the spring, home sales roared back to record levels throughout the summer and fall. A strong economic rebound in many sectors of the economy, ultra-low borrowing costs and the enhanced use of technology for virtual open houses and showings fuelled and sustained the housing market recovery.”