03/07/2023
March Report:
Well, well, well, folks. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) has just released their February 2023 MLS sales data, and let's just say, it's a bit of a doozy.
According to the report, local Realtors reported a total of 4783 home sales in February, which is a whopping 47% decrease from February 2022. Yikes. To put it in perspective, this represents a 31.5% decline against the 10-year average. Ouch.
And it's not just sales that took a hit. New listings entering the market in February dropped by 40.9% compared to the previous year. However, at the end of the month, there were 9,643 Active Listings, which is actually a gain of 38.1% compared to the previous year. But even with this increase, it only represents a 2-month supply heading into March.
Now, for the juicy stuff - let's talk about the moolah. The average selling price for February 2023 was $1,095,617, which is down 17.9% from the previous year.
However, don't let that number fool you. The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark, which serves as a more accurate measure of price trends, decreased by a similar 17.7% (-13.9% in Toronto) year-over-year, but it's up from January. Also, the share of sales for homes priced below $1,000,000 increased to 57% in February 2023, compared to only 38% in 2022. So, if you're looking to buy, it might not be all bad news.
Now, let's break it down by housing type. Detached homes sold for an average of $1,439,735, which is a year-over-year decrease of 19.9% but a month-over-month increase of 7.3%. Semi-detached homes, on the other hand, had an average price of $1,069,266 (-21.4% / +4.9%). Townhomes sold on average for $934,834 (-16.7% / +5.3%), and the average price of condos was $705,472 (-11.8% / +2.6%).
If you're curious about how long it took for homes to sell, the average February sale took place in just 22 days on the market, down from 29 days in January, and at 100% of the listing price. So, if you're a seller, you might be in luck.
As we move towards the spring market, the key indicator to keep an eye on will be housing supply. Despite the drop in sales volume, sales activity continues to outpace new listings, which is keeping months of inventory down and ensuring that the market remains competitive. Roughly 36.5% of all sales in February went over the list price, so if you're looking to sell, it might not be a bad idea to test the waters.