On a year-to-date basis, November 2019 saw a 12 per cent increase in transactions over the same period in 2018. The average price for 2019 reached $818,386, which is a jump of $29,169 or 3.7 per cent. While detached homes saw a modest increase from $1,012,696 in 2018 to $1,014,966 in 2019 year-to-date, condo apartments price rose 6.2 per cent. The average price of a semi-detached house went up 4.2 per cent and townhouses jumped 3.2 per cent.What is behind the robust rebound of the GTA housing market? “An increasing number of home buyers impacted by demand-side policies over the past three years, including the 2017 Ontario Fair Housing Plan and the OSFI mortgage stress test, have moved back into the market for ownership housing. Based on affordability and stricter mortgage qualification standards, many buyers may have likely adjusted their preferences, changing the type and/or location of home they ultimately chose to purchase,” says Michael Collins, president of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).
With fewer listings, market conditions continued to tighten in 2019, accelerating the price growth. “Strong population growth in the GTA coupled with declining negotiated mortgage rates resulted in sales accounting for a greater share of listings in November and throughout the second half of 2019. Increased competition between buyers has resulted in an acceleration in price growth. Expect the rate of price growth to increase further if we see no relief on the listings supply front," says Jason Mercer, TREB's chief market analyst.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) recent national outlook report, the two-year slowdown Canada experienced in the housing market is now officially over. CMHC predicts that interest rates will likely sink lower in 2020 as the housing market continues to gather steam through the first half of the year. CMHC forecasts that Canadian sales will peak between 2020 and 2021 in Ontario, due to anticipated strength of disposable income increases and strong demographic-driven demand for housing.
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