Toronto has now gone eight months with double digit increases in home sales.
And the 905 suburbs saw double-digit sale increases in detached houses and townhouses.
But Burlington had the highest rise in home prices across the GTA. In that GO Transit hub commuter city the average selling price of a detached house rose 18 per cent to $976,700. A semi-detached house climbed 17 per cent to $746,800.
Just this past June Brookfield Property announced a partnership with InterRent REIT and CLV Group to develop a huge multi-family, mixed-use development on the Burlington GO Lands. Plus, Metrolinx has announced ambitious plans to extend and expand GO service to the west of the GTA and beyond.
Those are just a few of the highlights as price growth November in Toronto's housing market hit its fastest pace since 2017 due to rising sales amid a deep decline in the inventory of available homes for sale.
READ: GO Transit Hub Cities Urged To Speed Housing Developments
Across the GTA (Canada's largest housing market) there were 7,090 residential properties sold. That's a 14.2 per cent increase from the same period in 2018. Sales of detached properties rose fastest with a 23.8 jump year over year.
According to the newly released November 2019 stats from The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), the supply of available houses for sale plummeted 27.2 per cent from the same period last year.
TREB president Michael Collins provided this analysis: “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," Collins said, "many buyers may have likely adjusted their preferences, changing the type and/or location of home they ultimately chose to purchase.”
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In Halton the competition for housing is heating up, according to real estate brokerage and website Zoocasa.
“Housing market conditions continued to get much more competitive for homebuyers across the 905 regions in November, as sales spiked and new listings declined across every local market,” says Penelope Graham, managing editor, Zoocasa.
“With more than 80 per cent of all newly-listed homes selling over the course of the month, prospective purchasers are more likely to face a supply crunch and could come up against other buyers in multiple-offer situations, which will drive home prices higher.”
Halton Region realized a dramatic upswing in sales along with a steep decline in new supply, prompting an abrupt about-face from last year’s market conditions. According to Graham, the region can now be classified as a sellers’ market, says Graham.
In Burlington, which saw the biggest rise, the average price of a detached house sits at $1,048,952. A semi costs $699,250, a town costs $557,374 and a condo costs $494,802.
READ: GO Expansion Is Already Having A Big Impact On Niagara Housing Prices
Across the GTA, the average selling price rose 7.1 per cent year-over-year, settling at $843,637 in November. Not since May, 2017 when the average selling price rose 14.6 per cent has the housing market witnessed such a jump.
TREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer wrote in a release: “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.”
