Greater Toronto Area realtors reported 4,133 condominium apartment sales through the Toronto MLS system during the first quarter of 2013. This number is down by approximately 17 per cent in comparison to the first quarter of 2012.

New listings of condominium apartments were also down on a year-over-year basis in the first quarter but by a lesser annual rate of five per cent.

“Buyers benefitted from a substantial amount of choice in the condo market in the first quarter, especially in comparison to lowrise home types,: says Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) president, Ann Hannah. “This being said, the fact that new condo listings were down in the first quarter suggests the market may become tighter moving forward. This will also depend on the timing and scale of future condo apartment completions.”

The average price for first quarter condominium apartment sales was $332,846 – down 0.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2012.

“With months of inventory high from a historic perspective, it makes sense that the average selling price for condos edged lower over the past two quarters,” says TREB’s senior manager of market analysis, Jason Mercer. “However, March results were much more positive compared to the first quarter as a whole, with the average condo selling price up by two per cent annually for the GTA.”