As we move into the cooler days of Fall and leave August behind us we can look back at the summer months ( May- Aug) and summarize the real estate activity in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) as follows;
- Low sales volumes, 23,592 homes ( avg 5,898/ mth) vs 27,037 (6,759/mth) in 2023. August 2024 had 4,975 sales, the lowest since January of this year,
- High level of new listings for the period at 65,419 vs 57,067 in 2023, up 14.6%
- Very high level of available listings; 22,653 at the end of August vs 15,497 last year, up 46.2% from August 2023
- Very high level of canceled listings, terminated listing, suspended listing (37,262 vs 24,906 in 2023) as agents and sellers attempted to find the correct pricing strategy to sell homes. This reflects the challenges faced by sellers during a changing and more competitive marketplace. Buyers have more choice and prefer homes that don't require updating. Quite a change from a year ago!
- With a lower number of homes sold and a higher level of available homes for sale, the average selling price for the summer period was $1,127,225 down from $1,144,773 last year. This downward trend has been the norm for most of 2024. August ended with an average selling price for all home types of $1,074,425, down 7.6% from the end of April.
- There still remains a large level of available homes to be absorbed, on average, before selling prices begin to rise. In most areas of the GTA we see well over a 3 months of supply of homes based on current sales and active listings.
- Durham Region continues to be the most affordable market in the GTA with an average selling price of $907,997 at the end of August. By comparison, the average selling prices in August for Halton Region was $1,217,477, Peel Region $1,029,214, Toronto $1,029,069 and York Region was $1,297,868.
- Durham home sales by type of home represent a higher proportion of freehold detached sales (66%) than the other GTA communities. York Region is the closest at 51% detached sales.
The Fall Market is often one of the best times for Buyers and Sellers. There are some positive factors to consider as we move into the Fall. As the Canadian economy chugs along at a sluggish pace we are seeing bond yields declining, this will put pressure on the lenders to lower fixed rate mortgages. Combine that with the Bank of Canada rate reduction on September 4th and likely a further reduction in October and we could begin to see new momentum entering the real estate market in the Fall and into 2025. Higher than normal New Listings will help to keep prices in check for the foreseeable future.
“As borrowing costs trend lower over the next year-and-a-half, home buyers will initially benefit from both lower monthly mortgage payments and lower home prices. Even as demand picks up, especially in 2025, it will take time for the inventory of listings to be absorbed. Ample choice in the market will help keep price growth moderate, at least in the initial phases of recovery,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.
While all these numbers and analyses are at a macro level for the GTA, each community and home type will exhibit their own unique characteristics of sales, number of available homes and selling prices. This should all be explored in detail before entering the market. We are happy to help you out for all areas of the GTA and we can do a deep dive into each community’s market stats and trends. We go above and beyond to prepare our clients about what they should expect in their communities of interest.
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*all market trends and analyses have been prepared by The Jenkins Team using the latest Toronto Regional Real Estate Board data and represent our opinions and not necessarily that of TRREB or our real estate brokerage.