Record home sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) continued in February as buyers remained confident in their employment situations and took advantage of ultra-low borrowing costs.
With multiple buyers continuing to compete for many available listings, double-digit annual price growth was the norm throughout the GTA, with stronger rates of growth in the suburbs surrounding the City of Toronto.
GTA REALTORS® reported 10,970 sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in February 2021 – a 52.5 per cent increase compared to 7,193 sales reported in February 2020. Looking at all areas of the GTA combined, the condominium apartment segment led the way with a 64 per cent sales increase compared to last year, with similar rates of increase in the ‘416’ and ‘905’ area codes.
“It’s clear that the historic demand for housing experienced in the second half of last year has carried forward into the first quarter of this year with some similar themes, including the continued popularity of suburban low-rise properties. It’s also evident that the supply of listings is not keeping up with demand, which could present an even larger problem once population growth picks up following widespread vaccinations later this year and into 2022,” said TRREB President Lisa Patel.
The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark was up by 14.8 per cent year-over-year in February 2021. Over the same period, the average selling price was up by 14.9 per cent to $1,045,488. While market conditions were tight throughout the GTA region in February, the detached, semi-detached and townhouse market segments in suburban areas were the drivers of average price growth, with annual rates of increase above 20 per cent in all three cases.
“In the absence of a marked uptick in inventory, the current relationship between demand and supply supports continued double-digit average home price growth this year. In addition, if we continue to see growth in condo sales outstrip growth in new condo listings in Toronto, renewed price growth in this market segment is a distinct possibility in the second half of the year,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.
“The pandemic has not stunted GTA residents’ appetite for owning a home. Once the economy opens further and immigration into the GTA resumes, there will be an even greater need for housing supply. Understandably, COVID-19 has been front and centre for policymakers. However, it will be important to build upon the proactive work already started by local and provincial governments to promote the development of a more diverse and affordable housing supply in our region,” said TRREB CEO John DiMichele.
| Summary of TRREB MLS® System Sales and Average Price February 1–28, 2021 | ||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| Sales | Average Price | New Listings | Sales | Average Price | New Listings | |
| City of Toronto (“416”) | 3,741 | 995,201 | 4,706 | 2,457 | 988,795 | 3,520 |
| Rest of GTA (“905”) | 7,229 | 1,071,512 | 10,431 | 4,736 | 869,337 | 7,098 |
| GTA | 10,970 | 1,045,488 | 15,137 | 7,193 | 910,142 | 10,618 |
| TRREB MLS® System Sales & Average Price by Home Type February 1–28, 2021 | |||||||||||
| Sales | Average Price | ||||||||||
| 416 | 905 | Total | 416 | 905 | Total | ||||||
| Detached | 915 | 4,028 | 4,943 | 1,684,073 | 1,300,853 | 1,371,791 | |||||
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 29.8% | 47.4% | 43.8% | 13.2% | 27.8% | 23.1% | |||||
| Semi-Detached | 295 | 682 | 977 | 1,324,244 | 932,551 | 1,050,820 | |||||
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 64.8% | 48.6% | 53.1% | 9.7% | 25.6% | 20.3% | |||||
| Townhouse | 341 | 1,500 | 1,841 | 913,037 | 845,518 | 858,025 | |||||
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 49.6% | 65.7% | 62.5% | 7.8% | 20.3% | 17.3% | |||||
| Condo Apartment | 2,167 | 949 | 3,116 | 676,837 | 563,587 | 642,346 | |||||
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 63.2% | 66.8% | 64.3% | -6.4% | 5.4% | -3.7% | |||||
|
February 2021 Year-Over-Year Per Cent Change in the MLS® HPI |
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| Composite (All Types) | Single-Family Detached | Single-Family Attached | Townhouse | Apartment | |||||||
| TRREB Total | 14.81% | 21.22% | 19.90% | 14.48% | 1.38% | ||||||
| Halton Region | 21.62% | 25.51% | 26.19% | 18.37% | 10.85% | ||||||
| Peel Region | 15.62% | 19.16% | 20.12% | 14.41% | 3.70% | ||||||
| City of Toronto | 6.04% | 15.00% | 12.77% | 9.64% | -0.40% | ||||||
| York Region | 17.16% | 20.23% | 20.15% | 11.04% | 5.39% | ||||||
| Durham Region | 28.91% | 28.92% | 31.93% | 29.13% | 17.24% | ||||||
| Orangeville | 23.71% | 24.12% | 27.56% | – | – | ||||||
| South Simcoe County1 |
35.28% |
30.71% |
26.89% |
– |
– |
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| Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board
1South Simcoe includes Adjala-Tosorontio, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Essa, Innisfil and New Tecumseth |
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| Year-to-Date Summary of TRREB MLS® System Sales and Average Price YTD 2021 | ||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| Sales | Average Price | New Listings | Sales | Average Price | New Listings | |
| City of Toronto (“416”) | 6,402 | 941,558 | 8,258 | 4,050 | 946,047 | 6,155 |
| Rest of GTA (“905”) | 11,478 | 1,056,574 | 16,317 | 7,689 | 848,629 | 12,311 |
| GTA | 17,880 | 1,015,392 | 24,575 | 11,739 | 882,238 | 18,466 |
| YTD TRREB MLS® System Sales & Average Price by Home Type YTD 2021 | ||||||
| Sales | Average Price | |||||
| 416 | 905 | Total | 416 | 905 | Total | |
| Detached | 1,436 | 6,264 | 7,700 | 1,646,335 | 1,303,558 | 1,367,484 |
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 29.8% | 42.7% | 40.1% | 14.1% | 31.0% | 26.0% |
| Semi-Detached | 457 | 1,024 | 1,481 | 1,281,923 | 921,325 | 1,032,596 |
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 71.2% | 43.6% | 51.1% | 12.8% | 25.6% | 22.4% |
| Townhouse | 600 | 2,362 | 2,962 | 870,457 | 828,908 | 837,325 |
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 48.1% | 57.0% | 55.2% | 6.3% | 20.4% | 16.9% |
| Condo Apartment | 3,867 | 1,716 | 5,583 | 654,047 | 556,408 | 624,037 |
| Yr./Yr. % Change | 72.2% | 74.6% | 72.9% | -7.3% | 5.1% | -4.3% |
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board
| Seasonally Adjusted TRREB MLS® System Sales and Average Price1 | ||||
| Sales | Month-Over-Month % Chg. | Average Price | Month-over-Month % Chg. | |
| February ’20 | 8,730 | 22.4% | $900,194 | 2.9% |
| March ’20 | 6,859 | -21.4% | $894,512 | -0.6% |
| April ’20 | 2,384 | -65.2% | $790,070 | -11.7% |
| May ’20 | 3,629 | 52.2% | $827,628 | 4.8% |
| June ’20 | 6,459 | 78.0% | $904,263 | 9.3% |
| July ’20 | 9,338 | 44.6% | $951,327 | 5.2% |
| August ’20 | 10,455 | 12.0% | $981,773 | 3.2% |
| September ’20 | 10,051 | -3.9% | $953,073 | -2.9% |
| October ’20 | 9,771 | -2.8% | $957,758 | 0.5% |
| November ’20 | 9,399 | -3.8% | $966,167 | 0.9% |
| December ’20 | 11,370 | 21.0% | $978,428 | 1.3% |
| January ’21 | 11,719 | 3.1% | $1,009,571 | 3.2% |
| February ’21 | 13,582 | 15.9% | $1,032,608 | 2.3% |
| Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board; CREA Seasonal Adjustment | ||||
| 1 Preliminary seasonal adjustment undertaken by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Removing normal seasonal variations allows for more meaningful analysis of monthly changes and underlying trends. | ||||
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