Toronto-area home sales down in March, competition hikes prices up: board

TheTorontoRegional Real Estate Board says GreaterToronto Area homesalesin March were down 4.5 per cent from last year, but there was enough competition between buyers that the average home price rose moderately year-over-year.

A total of 6,560 homes changed hands in the month compared with 6,868 last year. The board noted this year'ssalesfigures were down in part due to the statutory Good Friday holiday falling within March rather than April.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis,saleswere down by 1.1 per cent.

The average selling price was up 1.3 per cent year-over-year to $1,121,615.

"Price growth is expected to accelerate during the spring and even more so in the second half of the year, assalesgrowth catches up with listings growth and sellers' market conditions start to emerge in many neighbourhoods," said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer in a news release.

"Lower borrowing costs in the months ahead will help fuel increased demand for ownership housing."

Affordability still a major challenge for prospective buyers

Affordability continues to be a major challenge for prospective buyers in theTorontoarea, said Chris Kapches, president and CEO of Chestnut Park Real Estate Limited.

He said that even with forecasts that the Bank of Canada will likely lower its key interest rate later this year, many people will still find themselves priced out of the market.

"Population growth has become so prominent in terms of driving this marketplace, and driving the demand, that prices have stayed high, while at the same timesaleshave fallen off because of affordability," Kapches said in an interview.

"We don't see buyers shooting the lights out because they're constrained ... and I think that is going to be the continuing pattern of this market as we go forward."

New listings were up 15 per cent last month from March 2023, which TRREB president Jennifer Pearce attributed to homeowners possibly anticipating an improvement in market conditions in the spring.

"Assuming we benefit from lower borrowing costs in the near future,saleswill increase further, new listings will be absorbed, and tighter market conditions will push selling prices higher," said Pearce in a news release.

The first quarter ended with 11.2 per cent highersalesyear-over-year and new listings up by 18.3 per cent for the three-month period.

8% decrease in Toronto home sales last month

Kapches said his advice to clients is that they may need to look far out in the GreaterTorontoArea for affordable home prices if they are set on staying nearby. He pointed to Scarborough as an area where prices for condominium apartments are more feasible.

"It's kind of a terrible clich, but you drive until you're qualified," he said.

"People are moving to other parts of the province where it's more affordable. In some cases, people are moving to other provinces."

In the city ofToronto itself,there were 2,308saleslast month, an eight per cent decrease from March 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, homesalesfell 2.5 per cent to 4,252.

By property type,salesof condo apartments saw the biggest decrease throughout the GTA, with 12.8 per cent fewer changing hands. There were also three per cent fewer detached homesalesin March.

Meanwhile, there were 4.3 per cent more semi-detached homesales, followed by a 1.1 per cent increase in townhousesales.