The latest report issued by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) shows sustained growth in the region's housing market, including increases in the volume of sales and home prices in June, as well as throughout the first half of 2019.

Toronto skyline, image by Forum contributor skycandy

In June, 8,860 sales were recorded, a 10.4% year-over-year increase from June 2018. The number of new listings remained stable in June, though active listings dipped by 5.7%. The overall average selling price for June increased approximately 3%, from June 2018's figure of $808,066 up to $832,703. Looking at a wider period of time, the first half of 2019 saw sales increase 8.5% year-over-year, with listings rising by just under 1%. The average selling price for the first half of the year was $810,661, a 2.4% increase from last year's first half.

In his first report since becoming new TREB President, Michael Collins underscored the importance of new housing as more residents are drawn to the region from around the world, and TREB's longstanding position on what can alleviate the shortage, stating, "Over the next year, as demand for ownership and rental housing continues to grow, my hope is that we will see more movement from policy makers on two fronts: alleviating the constrained supply of housing and providing more flexibility around demand-side policies, including the OSFI two percentage point mortgage stress test and allowable amortization periods on insured mortgages."

It should come as no surprise that the increasingly tight market carries over to condominium rentals, with 9,749 condominium apartment rental transactions reported in Q2, representing a 14.9% spike measured year-over-year against the second quarter of 2018. The average Q2 2019 one-bedroom condominium apartment rent in the region increased 6.7% up to $2,192, while average two-bedroom condominium apartment rents rose 4.3% to $2,873.

“While the rental market remains tight, renters do appear to be benefiting from more supply in the marketplace.  The pace of year-over-year average rent growth has slowed over the past year. That being said, average condo rents continued to increase well-above the rate of inflation in the second quarter. This suggests that new rental supply, in terms of both purpose-built rental units and investor-owned condominium apartments, is still required in the GTA to keep up with population growth and new household formation,” reads a statement from Jason Mercer, TREB’s Chief Market Analyst.

Let us know what you think in the comments section provided below.

* * *

UrbanToronto has a new way you can track projects through the planning process on a daily basis. Sign up for a free trial of our New Development Insider here.