August was another record-breaking month for Toronto's housing market, as home prices were the only thing hotter than the weather. The market also saw a surge of new listings as buyers continued to actively shop for detached and semi-detached homes.
On Thursday, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) released its latest housing report, which revealed sales were up on a year-over-year basis in August with 10,755 recorded sales -- up a staggering 40.3% annually -- in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) regions.
In August, the low-rise market segments -- including detached and semi-detached houses and townhouses -- were the drivers of sales growth, while condominium apartment sales were up on an annual basis for the second straight month, albeit to a lesser degree.
The number of new listings and the number of active listings at the end of August were also up on a year-over-year basis. While new listings were up strongly for all home types, growth in new condominium apartment listings far outstripped growth in the other market segments.
READ: Sales of New Single-Family Homes in GTA Up 187% From July 2019
“Increased demand for ownership housing has been based on improving economic conditions, in terms of monthly GDP growth and job creation, and the continuation of very low borrowing costs," says Lisa Patel, TRREB President.
For the second month in a row, Patel attributed the lack of travel amid COVID-19 to the increased activity in the GTA housing market, which has been satisfying pent-up demand from the spring when stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions were first implemented.
TRREB August 2020
But it's not just sales and listings that soared in August, as the average selling price of all home categories -- low-rise market segments and condos -- rose 20% year over year in August to $951,404, up $7,738 from July’s average.
The August numbers also showed that those looking to enter the housing market are turning to buy more ground-level homes, as detached houses in Toronto sold for $1,505,100 on average, a 21.4% increase compared to last August. What's more, the 1,099 detached house transactions in Toronto last month represented a 63.5% year-over-year increase, while the 337 semi-detached home sales showed an 80% increase from last August.
TRREB August 2020
"With growth in condominium apartment listings well-outstripping condo sales growth, condo market conditions were comparatively more balanced, which was reflected in a slower pace of price growth in that segment,” said the real estate board’s chief market analyst Jason Mercer.
While condo sales rose 10.9% across the GTA in August, the 905 regions saw the biggest jump in condo transactions with a 14.5% increase compared to 9.2% in the city of Toronto. Condo prices also rose more notably in 905-areas, up to 12.9% compared to 8.7% in Toronto.
