TORONTO, June 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 10,196 sales through TREB’s MLS® System in May 2017 – down by 20.3 per cent compared to 12,790 sales reported in May 2016. Sales of detached homes were down by 26.3 per cent. Sales of condominium apartments were down by 6.4 per cent.
The supply of listings was up strongly over the same period. Active listings – the number of properties available for sale – at the end of May were up by 42.9 per cent compared to the record low a year earlier. The number increased considerably for low-rise home types including detached and semi-detached houses and townhouses. Active listings for condominium apartments were down compared to May 2016.
“Home buyers definitely benefitted from a better supplied market in May, both in comparison to the same time last year and to the first four months of 2017. However, even with the robust increase in active listings, inventory levels remain low. At the end of May, we had less than two months of inventory. This is why we continued to see very strong annual rates of price growth, albeit lower than the peak growth rates earlier this year,” said Mr. Cerqua.
Selling prices continued to increase strongly in May compared to the same month in 2016. The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark price was up by 29 per cent year-over-year. The average selling price for all home types combined for the TREB Market Area as a whole was up by 14.9 per cent to $863,910. Year-over-year price increases were greater for condominium apartments compared to low-rise home types. This likely reflects the fact that the low-rise market segments benefitted most from the increase in listings.
“The actual, or normalized, effect of the Ontario Fair Housing Plan remains to be seen. In the past, some housing policy changes have initially led to an overreaction on the part of homeowners and buyers, which later balanced out. On the listings front, the increase in active listings suggests that homeowners, after a protracted delay, are starting to react to the strong price growth we’ve experienced over the past year by listing their home for sale to take advantage of these equity gains,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.
| TREB MLS® Active Residential Listings at Month-End | |
| Month/Year | Active Listings at Month-End |
| May 2003 | 21,747 |
| May 2004 | 22,484 |
| May 2005 | 24,875 |
| May 2006 | 26,220 |
| May 2007 | 23,739 |
| May 2008 | 27,267 |
| May 2009 | 21,524 |
| May 2010 | 25,414 |
| May 2011 | 18,481 |
| May 2012 | 20,462 |
| May 2013 | 22,677 |
| May 2014 | 20,679 |
| May 2015 | 18,585 |
| May 2016 | 12,931 |
| May 2017 | 18,477 |
| Summary of TorontoMLS Sales and Average Price May 1 - 31, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sales | Average Price | New Listings | Sales | Average Price | New Listings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City of Toronto ("416") | 3,926 | 899,728 | 8,451 | 4,612 | 782,551 | 6,745 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rest of GTA ("905") | 6,270 | 841,483 | 17,386 | 8,178 | 734,927 | 10,611 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| GTA | 10,196 | 863,910 | 25,837 | 12,790 | 752,100 | 17,356 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| TorontoMLS Sales & Average Price By Home Type May 1 - 31, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sales | Average Price | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 416 | 905 | Total | 416 | 905 | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Detached | 1,146 | 3,611 | 4,757 | 1,503,868 | 1,025,893 | 1,141,041 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yr./Yr. % Change | -26.1% | -26.4% | -26.3% | 16.6% | 15.0% | 15.6% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Semi-Detached | 348 | 582 | 930 | 1,062,318 | 682,565 | 824,667 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yr./Yr. % Change | -14.1% | -27.1% | -22.7% | 27.2% | 16.1% | 22.9% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Townhouse | 367 | 1,146 | 1,513 | 741,211 | 629,229 | 656,392 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yr./Yr. % Change | -24.3% | -15.9% | -18.1% | 18.0% | 19.2% | 18.4% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Condo Apartment | 2,038 | 816 | 2,854 | 564,808 | 448,867 | 531,659 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yr./Yr. % Change | -4.3% | -11.1% | -6.4% | 27.7% | 29.0% | 28.4% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 2017 Year-Over-Year Per Cent Change in the MLS® HPI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Composite (All Types) | Single-Family Detached | Single-Family Attached | Townhouse | Apartment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TREB Total | 28.98% | 28.76% | 26.23% | 30.25% | 31.85% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halton Region | 28.39% | 28.10% | 28.07% | 30.01% | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peel Region | 29.88% | 28.85% | 28.39% | 32.49% | 33.27% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City of Toronto | 26.10% | 24.82% | 22.10% | 27.05% | 31.03% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| York Region | 29.19% | 30.17% | 26.37% | 18.87% | 33.97% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Durham Region | 33.33% | 32.75% | 30.82% | 39.21% | 43.42% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Orangeville | 34.91% | 34.56% | 36.05% | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Simcoe County1 | 36.73% | 36.85% | 33.28% | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1South Simcoe includes Adjala-Tosorontio, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Essa, Innisfil & New Tecumseth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They are governed by a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service®. Over 48,000 residential and commercial TREB Members serve consumers in the Greater Toronto Area. TREB is Canada’s largest real estate board.
Media Inquiries: Mary Gallagher Senior Manager Public Affairs (416) 443-8158 maryg@trebnet.com
