GTA resale market shows signs of increased supply

The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) released its monthly resale market figures for March 2017, announcing that the market finally experienced a year-over-year increase in listings.

There were 17,051 new listings in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) last month, which is a 15.2% increase. The strongest listings growth was in the detached market. Don’t get too excited though, sales growth still outpaced listings.

There were 12,077 home sales across the GTA in March, which is 17.7% higher than the same period last year. The strongest sales growth was seen in the condo and detached markets. There were 3,261 condo sales and 5,887 detached sales; increases of 23.9% and 19.8%, respectively.

“It has been encouraging to see that policymakers have not implemented any knee-jerk policies regarding the GTA housing market,” says TREB President Larry Cerqua. “Different levels of government are holding consultations with market stakeholders and TREB has participated and will continue to participate in these discussions. Policymakers must remember that it is the interplay between the demand for and supply of listings that influences price growth.”

Resale market buyers

With strong competition continuing between buyers, prices continue to surge. The average selling price went up 33.2% to $916,567. The largest average price jump was in the 905 townhome market where the average went up 38.5% to $690,202.

For detached homes, the average price in the 416 went up 32.8% to $1,561,780, while price growth in the 905 was stronger at 34.3% growth, hitting $1,124,088. In the condo market, the average price across the GTA was $518,879, which was a 33.1% increase.

“Annual rates of price growth continued to accelerate in March as growth in sales outstripped growth in listings,” explains Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis. “A substantial period of months in which listings growth is greater than sales growth will be required to bring the GTA housing market back into balance. As policymakers seek to achieve this balance, it is important that an evidence-based approach is followed.”

So, in order for the resale market to balance out, there needs to be stronger listings growth for several months. What can the government or industry do to encourage more listings? How would an increase in resale listings affect the new home market?