The latest report from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) shows continued strength in the Greater Toronto Area condominium market through the third quarter of 2019. Regional increases in the number of sales recorded and average home prices were accompanied by small decline in the number of new listings.

A total of 6,407 condominium apartment sales were recorded in Q3 2019, rising 11.1% when compared to Q3 2018. Despite positive growth GTA-wide, the number of condos sold in the City of Toronto decreased year-over-year from 4,472 to 4,066. During the same period, the number of new listings fell GTA-wide by 1%, a slight drop from the 9,636 listings added in 2018.

Toronto skyline, image by Forum contributor Norm Li

Price growth in the GTA shows now signs of slowing, with the average price of a condominium apartment increasing by 5.8% regionally from $552,766 in Q3 2018, and 5.6% in Toronto proper for respective average prices of $584,564 and $628,074. Price growth is being partially attributed to tightening market conditions, with sales up and listings down relative to last year.

CMHC data suggests that the dip in listings may be a result of new condominium apartment completions being down year-to-date through August compared against the same period in 2018, potentially translating to fewer investor-owned units being listed for sale in Q3 2019 versus Q3 2018.

“Condominium apartments are obviously a popular choice amongst first-time home-buyers. Moreover, it is also important to remember that condominium apartments owned by investors represent a huge component of the GTA rental stock and certainly account for most additions to the rental stock, on net, over the past decade. With this in mind, a well-supplied condo segment will be important moving forward to ensure that we can keep up with population growth driven by a strong and diverse regional economy,” reads a statement issued by Jason Mercer, TREB’s Chief Market Analyst.

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