The 8,940 GTA home sales recorded last month marked an 11-per-cent uptick in activity compared to March 2014, reported Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) president Paul Etherington. The biggest spike in sales occurred in the detached home segment of the market, which was up 14 per cent, followed by condo apartments at 12.7 per cent and townhouses at 8.9 per cent.
A lesser increase in new listings, of 5.5 per cent, pointed to tighter market conditions.
“Home sales increased compared to last year as the cost of home ownership remained affordable, with lower interest rates going a long way to mitigate the effect of rising home prices,” said Etherington. “However, a substantial amount of pent-up demand remains in place, especially as it relates to low-rise market segments.”
Etherington added that he expected the competition that has fuelled strong price growth to date in 2015 to continue through the spring.
At $613,933, the average selling price for all March transactions represented a year-over-year increase of 10 per cent. The MLS HPI® Composite Index, which was up 7.9 per cent, shows price growth resulting from market forces. The index tracks benchmark homes from period to period, offering insight into the changing mix of home types sold when held up against average price growth.
“It is clear that seller’s market conditions in many parts of the GTA are driving price growth,” said Jason Mercer, director of market analysis at TREB. “However, looking at the detached market segment in the City of Toronto in particular, growth in the average selling price outstripped growth in the MLS HPI®.
“This points to the fact that the mix of detached homes sold this year compared to last has shifted towards more expensive properties.”
The breakdown between the 416 and 905 area codes
TREB saw a significantly higher sales increase, measured as a year-over-year percentage change, in detached homes in the 905 compared to the sales increase in detached homes in the 416 (17.3 per cent versus 4.3 per cent). Similar townhouse sales increases occurred in both area codes (8.3 per cent in the 416; 9.1 per cent in the 905). In the 416, condo apartment sales increased slightly more than in the 905 (13.5 per cent versus 10.8 per cent).
The average price of a detached home in Toronto increased 15.9 per cent, year over year, to $1,042,405. In the 905, the average price of a detached home increased 10 per cent, year over year, to $709,116.
Condo apartments in Toronto sold for an average price of $398,337, up 3.3 per cent from last March. In the 905, condo apartments sold for an average price of $310,156, up 6.7 per cent from last March.
