APRIL’S RECORD-BREAKING REBOUND: WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE MARKET?

Home sales in the GTA have set a new record for April and amounted to more than quadruple that from April 2020. Last April, we experienced the first full month in our city of the COVID-19 pandemic, while challenging the regular seasonal trend, April 2021 sales actually declined compared to the sales we saw last month. A similar trend was recorded for the number of new listings we saw as well.

13,663 sales were reported through TRREB’s MLS System for April 2021 – a 12.7% decrease compared to March 2021, but more than quadruple the number of sales described this time last year when the economic impact of COVID-19 was disputably the worst. Compared to the 10-year sales average of 10,000 for the April of 2010 to April 2019 period, the April 2021 sales result was up by a staggering 36.6%.

New listings followed a similar trend – down by 8.4% compared to March 2021, but more than tripled compared to the number of new listings we saw on the market back in April 2020. When comparing to the 10-year new listings average for the April 2010 to 2019 period, the April 2021 new listings count had increased by 18.3%.

We witnessed a slowing in both the number of transactions and the number of new listings, although sales numbers remained very strong last month. It makes sense that we lessened in market activity compared to March 2021 as our province entered another state of emergency in hopes to flatten the curve of spiked COVID-19 cases we experienced at the beginning of the month. We’ve experienced a rapid pace of home sales since the summer of 2020 while seeing little in the way of population growth. We may be beginning to deplete the group of potential buyers within the existing GTA population. Over the long term, continuous growth in sales requires continuous growth in population.

The MLS Home Price Index Composite Benchmark was up by 17.8% year-over-year. The Composite Benchmark increased on a monthly basis, but the pace of monthly growth slowed. The average selling price of $1,090,992 was up by 33% compared to April 2020 but remained relatively flat relative to March 2021. This was in contrast to most years in the past when we were climatized to seeing the average selling price increase between March and April.

Despite a modest slowing in market activity in April 2021 compared to March 2021, sale prices for all major home times remained very high. Profoundly impacted by low borrowing costs during COVID-19 impacting the demand for and price of ownership housing. While the pace of price growth could moderate in the coming months, home prices will likely remain on the upward trend. Rehabilitated population growth over the next year paired with a persistent lack of new inventory will reinforce home price appreciation.

There is no doubt that transacting in Real Estate has definitely transformed- Throughout this pandemic we have had the pleasure of servicing a number of our clients, resulting in successful and most of all SAFE transactions throughout. Severe precautions are in place, and while we keep those in the forefront, we are still here to offer our guidance and expertise to help you make the next real estate move that is right for you and find ways to take advantage of the current Toronto Real Estate Market. Contact us today for a no-obligation discussion on how we can help you throughout your real estate journey.