Toronto Star
Home prices and sales keep climbing in Toronto
Toronto Real Estate Board predicts growth will continue right through 2014.
Carlos Osorio / Toronto Star
Resale condo transactions saw the biggest increase of any sector of the housing market, with sales up 27.8 per cent in December, year over year, the Toronto Real Estate Board said Monday. Pictured are condos in Toronto's Liberty Village.
Total home sales were up 2 per cent last year over 2012 — and up almost 14 per cent in December alone, despite a wet spring and one of the snowiest pre-Christmas months in years, according to year-end figures released Monday by the Toronto Real Estate Board.
House prices were up 5.2 per cent in 2013 compared to 2012, with the average selling price hitting $523,036 compared to $497,130 in 2012 as even the closely watched condo sector ended the year on a high.
Resale home prices were up almost 9 per cent across the GTA in December alone, with the average sale price coming in at $520,398 compared to $477,756 a year earlier, says TREB.
The one thing that could take some heat out of the market -- an increase in interest rates -- could come this year. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty warned in an interview with CTV on Sunday that Canada will face global pressure to raise rates in 2014 as the U.S. Federal Reserve pulls back on its stimulus efforts and the U.S. economy rebounds.
Even last year’s slight, and unexpected, bump up in rates had an almost immediate impact on the Toronto housing market as buyers rushed to get in before 90- and 120-day mortgage commitments expired, which sent sales surging and warnings from economists that the buying spree will likely be reflected in lower sales numbers for 2014.
The country’s largest real estate board predicts price growth will continue and exceed inflation in 2014, largely because demand for lowrise houses continues to far outstrip supply: New listings were down almost four per cent in December, which helped fuel frantic bidding wars in some highly sought after Toronto neighbourhoods close to the downtown and transit lines.
“The seller’s market conditions that drove price growth in the second half of 2013 will remain in place in many parts of the GTA. Some neighbourhoods, especially those characterized by lowrise house types like singles, semis and townhomes, will continue to have less than two months of inventory,” noted TREB senior manager of market analysis Jason Mercer.
Six months’ supply of housing inventory for sale is considered a healthy, balanced market. A shortage of listings has plagued the GTA market for more than three years now as baby boomers stay put and homeowners opt to renovate their homes rather than pay hefty real estate fees and land transfer taxes for properties that, in many cases, end up in bidding wars that continue to drive prices into the stratosphere.
Even the condo market rebounded in 2013 after sales, and prices, started slipping in 2012 in the face of persistent warnings the market was oversupplies and a bubble about to burst.
Resale condo transactions saw the biggest increase of any sector of the housing market, with sales up 27.8 per cent in December, year over year, fuelled largely by low interest rates and demand for lower-cost housing options.
Condo prices were up 6 per cent, year over year, to an average of $343,943 across the GTA.
The biggest gains were in the City of Toronto where sale prices were up about 7.6 per cent to $367,376, according to TREB’s figures, compared to price increases in the 905 regions averaging 4.6 per cent, bringing the average condo sale price in the suburban regions to $293,883.
Townhomes were the next most popular in a region where affordability is becoming more challenging: Sales were up almost 15 per cent in December of 2013 versus a year earlier and prices were up 11.2 per cent overall, bested only by detached homes which saw the biggest price gains with prices up an average of 12.5 per cent in December year over year.
Detached home sales were up 7.1 per cent in December over a year earlier, but saw a significant decline in the City of Toronto — down 6.7 per cent — compared to a 12.6 per cent increase in the 905 regions, in large part a reflection of the inadequate number of houses for sale in the city to meet demand.
That inventory problem helped drive up average sale prices a stunning 18.9 per cent in the City of Toronto, with the average transaction price hitting $864,351 in December. Prices were up 11.4 per cent in the suburbs to an average of $627,097, according to TREB.
Semi-detached home sales were up 8.8 per cent in the 416 region and down almost 1 per cent in the 905 regions, but prices were up 15.9 per cent (to $644,423) and 6.6 per cent (to $411,857) respectively.
Townhome sales were up 13.2 per cent in Toronto and 15.4 per cent in the suburbs in December, year over year. Prices climbed by 13.4 per cent in Toronto, to an average of $447,188, while they were up 10.3 per cent in the 905 regions to an average $384,095.
Condos sales were UP 20.7 per cent in Toronto and the mere 374 transactions in the 905 regions represented a 46.1 per cent increase in sales in December, year over year, driving overall resale condo transactions up 27.8 per cent across the GTA last month.
Prices were up 7.6 per cent in Toronto to an average of $367,376 compared to increases averaging 4.6 per cent in the 905 regions, with sales prices averaging $293,883.
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