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A turbulent year for real estate in the Greater Toronto Area may be smoothing out, as new figures from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) show year-over-year increases in new listings, average home prices, and the MLS Home Price Index (HPI) composite benchmark.
The average selling price for September increased by 2.6% year-over-year, reaching $775,546. This figure also represents a significant month-over-month increase against the $732,292 average recorded in August. The 16,469 new listings recorded during September marks a 9.4% year-over-year jump, as well as a month-over-month increase from the ten-year low of 11,523 new listings recorded in August. While the latest figures point to a rebound in the resale market, the number of overall sales for September 2017 was still 35% lower than last year's figures, with 6,379 sales recorded.
Despite the stagnant sales, TREB President Tim Syrianos interprets these changes as a sign that homeowners are expecting sales activity to heat up throughout the fall. "Consumer polling undertaken for TREB in the spring suggested that buying intentions over the next year remain strong," said Syrianos in a prepared statement issued this morning."As we move through the fourth quarter we could see some buyers moving off the sidelines, taking advantage of a better-supplied marketplace.”
Meanwhile, a quarterly report on the commercial real estate market shows a mix of gains and declines in Q3 2017. 5,609,801 ft² of combined industrial, commercial/retail, and office space was leased during this period, down from the 6,580,699 ft² leased during Q3 2016. Roughly 75% of these transactions were in the industrial market segment, accounting for over 4.2 million ft² of space. While the industrial market segment was by far the strongest in Q3, these figures still fall well below the 5.1 million ft² of industrial space leased during Q3 2016. On a more positive note, average lease rates increased for all major market segments.
Tim Syrianos points to optimistic economic reports from the first half of the year, combined with a flat month of August for GDP growth as an explanation for these sudden changes in commercial market growth. "If economic growth continues, including in the GTA, an increase in commercial leasing and sales activity could be the result as we move through the end of 2017 and into 2018,” said Mr. Syrianos.
