The region has significantly recovered from its pandemic doldrums
The Greater Toronto Area’s home sales activity in April more than quadrupled from the levels seen during the same time last year, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.
Clocking in at 13,663 transactions, the market’s home sales last month far exceeded the 2,957 closed deals seen in April 2020, which was the first full month since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.
Last month’s sales numbers were also 36.6% higher than GTA’s 10-year average for April, the TRREB said.
The region saw 20,825 new listings in April, declining by 8.4% from March but more than tripling the number seen in the fourth month of 2020 (6,180 new listings).
“It makes sense that we had a pullback in market activity compared to March,” said Lisa Patel, president of TRREB. “We’ve experienced a torrid pace of home sales since the summer of 2020 while seeing little in the way of population growth. We may be starting to exhaust the pool of potential buyers within the existing GTA population. Over the long term, sustained growth in sales requires sustained growth in population.”
GTA’s MLS® Home Price Index Composite benchmark had a 17.8% annual gain, with the average selling price growing by 33% during the same timeframe to reach $1.09 million.
Read more: Pandemic did not impede Ontario’s real estate price surge
“Despite a modest slowing in market activity in April compared to March, selling prices for all major home types remained very high,” said Jason Mercer, chief market analyst at TRREB. “Low borrowing costs during COVID-19 clearly had an impact on the demand for and price of ownership housing. While the pace of price growth could moderate in the coming months, home prices will likely continue on the upward trend. Renewed population growth over the next year, coupled with a persistent lack of new inventory, will underpin home price appreciation.”
