In spite of the bone-chilling temperatures that returned to
Toronto at times during the month of February, the GTA’s resale market
continued to see growth.
Toronto Real Estate Board President Dianne Usher announced
that February 2014 home sales reported by Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® were
up by 2.1 per cent compared to the same period last year. Total February
sales amounted to 5,731 compared to 5,613 last year.
While listed low-rise, detached homes continued to be
scarce, listings for re-sale condominiums were up compared to 2013 and
represented almost one third of sales in February.
It wasn’t just the number of listings that increased last
month however, as the average sale price of homes in the GTA stayed consistent
with it’s recent upward trend, rising 8.6% to $553,193 compared to February
2013.
“While the strong price growth experienced over the last
year should prompt an improvement in the supply of listings, sellers’ market
conditions will continue to prevail this year. Home prices, on average,
will trend upwards at a pace well-above the rate of inflation. The impact
of strong price growth on affordability will be mitigated by low borrowing
costs,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.
As temperatures rise and we get inch ever closer to spring,
the number of potential buyers in the market may see an increase ahead of the
CMHC’s announced rate hike that is planned for May. Mortgages that require the services of the CMHC will see
their premiums rise by as much as 15% starting on May 1, but applications filed
before that date will not be subject to the increase.
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Summary of
TorontoMLS Sales and Average Price February 1 - 28
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|
|
2014
|
2013
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|
|
Sales
|
Average Price
|
New Listings
|
Sales
|
Average Price
|
New Listings
|
||||||
|
City of Toronto
("416")
|
2,136
|
$599,414
|
4,393
|
2,146
|
$550,543
|
4,302
|
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Rest of GTA
("905")
|
3,595
|
$525,731
|
6,504
|
3,467
|
$483,926
|
6,703
|
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|
GTA
|
5,731
|
$553,193
|
10,897
|
5,613
|
$509,396
|
11,005
|
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TorontoMLS Sales & Average
Price By Home Type February 1 - 28, 2014
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|
|
Sales
|
Average Price
|
||||||||||
|
|
416
|
905
|
Total
|
416
|
905
|
Total
|
||||||
|
Detached
|
668
|
2,028
|
2,696
|
955,314
|
640,405
|
718,432
|
||||||
|
Yr./Yr. % Change
|
-8.0%
|
3.2%
|
0.1%
|
15.7%
|
10.4%
|
11.2%
|
||||||
|
Semi-Detached
|
202
|
388
|
590
|
668,298
|
425,052
|
508,333
|
||||||
|
Yr./Yr. % Change
|
-11.8%
|
4.0%
|
-2.0%
|
8.0%
|
5.6%
|
4.9%
|
||||||
|
Townhouse
|
207
|
634
|
841
|
545,043
|
400,165
|
435,825
|
||||||
|
Yr./Yr. % Change
|
-8.8%
|
-4.1%
|
-5.3%
|
20.7%
|
7.3%
|
10.9%
|
||||||
|
Condo Apartment
|
1,031
|
463
|
1,494
|
372,628
|
290,650
|
347,222
|
||||||
|
Yr./Yr. % Change
|
9.6%
|
19.6%
|
12.5%
|
6.0%
|
3.0%
|
4.8%
|
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