Toronto region home sales top November record, prices reach all-time high: TRREB

TORONTO -

The Greater Toronto Area's heated real estate market further intensified last month as home sales topped a November record and average selling prices reached a new all-time high.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board reported Friday that 9,017 homes changed hands last month, up three per cent from 8,728 during the prior November.

The average home price in the region stretched to $1,163,323, an almost 22 per cent jump from $955,889 in November 2020.

The board said the figures show demand for all types of housing in the region is continuing to outpace supply, but the condo market, in particular, is tightening and prices are accelerating more rapidly in suburban areas.

Brokers and real estate organizations have long attributed the market's heated conditions to a lack of housing inventory, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have also noted that the combination of low interest rates, favourable mortgage terms and the ability to work from home were also driving buyers.

They say many are antsy to get into the market this year, before prices rise even higher and people shift back to working from offices and other facilities again.

"This speaks to the broadening of economic recovery, with first-time buyers moving back into the market in a big way this year," said TRREB's chief market analyst Jason Mercer, in a release.

"The condo and townhouse segments, with lower price points on average, will remain popular as population growth picks up over the next two years."

Last month, TRREB reported the average condo price in the region reached $715,104, while detached homes rang in at more than $1.5 million and townhouses went for about $962,044.

Average prices in the 416 -- a nickname for the city of Toronto that excludes its suburbs -- topped all of the regional averages with detached homes reaching more than $1.8 million, townhouses hitting $981,759 and $745,951 for condos.

In suburban regions of the GTA, known as the 905, the average price was more than $1.4 million for a detached home, $955,010 for a townhouse and $646,211 for a condo.

But across all housing categories there were fewer homes on the market than last November, when the end of the year brought lockdowns and delivered an unexpected spike in home sales.

New listings fell by 13 per cent to 10,036 last month from 11,556 in November 2020.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2021.