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As the pandemic winds down and life slowly returns back to normal, the GTA housing market seems to be heating up. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) has expressed in its latest report that home sales in the GTA reached the second-highest level on record for the month of October, reporting a total of 9,783 sales, decreasing by 6.9% from the same month in 2020. But all is not as it seems — the report shows that the record sales numbers are due to housing demand outweighing its supply — and as a result, the TRREB is calling for more housing solutions for the region.
A closer look at the data shows that new listings were down by approximately one-third compared to October 2020, the effect of which was somewhat mitigated by a strong double-digit increase in condominium sales. The low-rise market continued to drive price growth in October while market conditions tightened across all major home types in comparison to 2020. The annual price growth remained in the double digits, including condominiums. The average selling-price for all homes ultimately rose to $1,155,345, representing a year-over-year increase of 19.3%.
“The only sustainable way to address housing affordability in the GTA is to deal with the persistent mismatch between demand and supply. Demand isn’t going away. And that’s why all three levels of government need to focus on supply," said TRREB President Kevin Crigger in a statement. "The Federal government has stated that collaboration with provinces and municipalities is required. This collaboration could be spearheaded, at least in part, with housing-related incentives tied to federal infrastructure investment.”
TRREB CEO John DiMichele agreed, saying, “Provincial and municipal candidates in the 2022 Ontario elections need to put housing at the forefront of their campaign platforms. Both the ownership and rental markets have recovered from the relatively short-term effects of the pandemic, but competition for ownership and rental properties is once again tight. Ontarians need to be clear on what would-be policymakers will do to alleviate supply shortages and related affordability challenges.”
GTA Realtors reported a total of 9,783 sales through the MLS System for the month of October, which is down compared to the October 2020 record of 10,503 sales. A strong double-digit increase in condominium apartment sales reduced annual declines in low-rise home sales. The number of new listings entered into the system was also down by almost a third over the same period, with consistent declines across all major home types.
“The tight market conditions across all market segments and areas of the GTA is testament to the broadening scope of economic recovery in the region and household confidence that this recovery will continue," said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer. "A key part of future economic development in the GTA will be the ability to provide adequate ownership and rental housing supply so that people can continue to move to the region to live, work and spend money in the local economy.”
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