Staggering growth in single-detached GTA home sales and average price shows little sign of slowing despite shortage of available listings, says RE/MAX Canada

Since the beginning of the year, sales in the York area have risen nearly 110 percent, while Peel and Center of toronto almost double compared to 2020,
Almost half of the 60 TRREB districts with average year-on-year price increases of more than 25 percent

MISSISSAUGA, ON, August 16, 2021 / CNW / – Continuous decline in the supply of single-family homes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), coupled with mortgage rates soaring well below three percent, accelerated demand from first-time buyers and boosted the city’s moving market in the first half of 2021, according to a report released today by RE / MAX Canada.

The RE / MAX 2021 GTA Hot Pocket Communities Report examined trends and developments in 60 districts of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) and found that inventory restrictions fueled demand across the GTA and set the stage for unprecedented market performance. With 11,297 active entries, this was the lowest level for June in at least a decade and 35 percent below the 10-year average of 17,260, beating the previous low of 12,327 reported in June 2016 for single-family homes with values ​​rising in almost 97 percent of the TRREB communities significantly above the values ​​of the previous year, with almost half reporting an increase of 25 percent or more compared to the same period in 2020. For the top 10 performers in 2021, the year-over-year price increase was 34.2 percent in Milton (Halton region) to a high of 46.4 in the Durham region Uxbridge this year.

All along the line RE / MAX Canada found that the increase in value of single-family homes from January to June 2021 was accompanied by a significant increase in sales volume. Compared to the same period last year, sales in the York area (109.6 percent) more than doubled, while Peel Center of toronto recorded increases of 98.2 and 96.7 percent respectively. Revenue increases across the GTA ranged from a low of 33.3 percent in Wexford in the East EndMaryvale, Clairlea-Birchmount, Kennedy Park, Ionview and Dorset Park (E04) to a high of 175 percent in Dufferin Grove, Little Portugal, Trinity-Bellwoods, Palmerston-Little Italy, Niagara, University, Kensington-Chinatown, Bay St. Corridor and Waterfront Communities (C01) in the central core.

“In mid-2021 and the GTA housing market continues to run on all cylinders,” says Christopher Alexander, Senior Vice President of RE / MAX Canada. “Total home sales exceeded 70,000 between January and June, the strongest first half of the year in the history of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, while levels broke record levels in previous years. Pricing in the months ahead is likely to continue this upward trend.”

With interest rates at all-time lows, first-time buyers try to get into the market before home ownership exceeds their financial reach. However, the affordability challenges are exacerbated by the supply crisis. Of the 60 TRREB communities that were examined in the RE / MAX Hot Pocket Community Report 2021, only six offered single-family homes as part of the $ 1 million Cost point. This contrasts with 18 municipalities in the same period in 2020 and 28 in 2019. All six markets were in the 905 area code.

“More transit options and hybrid working time models have made moving to the outskirts of the city even more attractive,” explains Alexander. “First-time buyers are feeling the pressure but are still determined to become homeowners. Many like to travel on to accomplish this while working from home Durham, Peel, Dufferin County and the northernmost part of the York region. “

In the peripheral areas, new residential construction has intensified in recent years. This is especially true in the parishes of Clarington, North Oshawa, East Gwillimbury, North Keswick (Georgina) and Caledonwhere a plethora of new home products have hit the market as resale and are quickly being accepted. In East Gwillimbury, home sales rose 145.3 percent to 444 units in the first half of the year, compared to 181 units in the same period in 2020; Georgina rose 90.4 percent (710 vs. 373); Caledon more than doubled, plus 108.2 percent (610 vs. 293); Oshawa increased by 71.9 percent (1,810 vs. 1,053) and Clarington increased by 65.6 (1,139 vs. 688).

“While first-time buyers struggle with supply and demand, existing homeowners are reaping the rewards as equity gains have skyrocketed over the past two and a half years,” says Alexander. “In the past few months, many movers and shakers have taken advantage of lower interest rates and those equity gains to move to larger homes or neighborhoods closer to the downtown core – with little changes in their monthly mortgage payments.”

Trade-up buyers are likely to be trailing behind the 416 area code, driving sales in central areas such as Central America Bathurst mansion and Clanton Park (C06), which increased by 169.8 percent (116 vs. 43) compared to the previous year in the first six months of 2021. Meanwhile, sales are in Lansing-Westgate, Newtonbrook West, and Willowdale West Westminster-Branson (C07) rose by 120.3 percent (271 vs. 123) over the same period. To the east of the city, sales in Milliken, North and South Agincourt, and Malvern West (E07) jumped 171.4 percent (190 vs. 70); Tam O’Shanter-Sullivan and L’Amoreaux Steele (E05) rose 107.4 percent (197 vs. 95); and Malvern and Rouge (E11) increased 101.3 percent (153 vs. 76). To the west Humberlea / Pelmo Park, Downsview-Roding-CFB, Glenfield-Jane Heights, York University Heights, Black brook, Humbermede and Humber Summit (W05) were up 138.5 percent (186 versus 78) and Stonegate-Queensway (W07) was up 100 percent (124 versus 62).

Municipalities bordering the 416 area code, such as Vaughan and Markham in the York region, Pickering In Durham, and Mississauga and Brampton in Peel also recorded a significant increase in sales in the first half of the year compared to the previous year, as they regained part of the movement into the city.

“The most daunting aspect of the current real estate explosion is that this time could actually be the calm before the storm,” says Alexander. “If hopefully the worst of the pandemic is in the rearview mirror and a recovery is on the way, economic expansion is likely. The Bank of Canada undertakes to keep interest rates at the current historically low level for at least another year. Immigration is expected to bring an additional 1.2 million permanent residents into the country over the next three years. With all these charms, comparisons have been made to the Roaring 1920s – let’s just hope this script has a better ending. “

Via the RE / MAX 2021 GTA Hot Pocket Community Report
The GTA Hot Pocket Communities Report 2021 is based on data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board and information from RE / MAX brokers. Local RE / MAX brokers were interviewed in July 2021 for their insights into market activities and local developments.

Via the RE / MAX network
RE / MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture that gives its agents and franchisees the flexibility to run their businesses with great independence. Almost 140,000 agents provide RE / MAX with global coverage of more than 110 countries and territories. RE / MAX is Canada’s leading real estate company with more than 20,000 sales people and over 900 independent and operated offices across the country. RE / MAX, LLC, a leading global real estate agent franchisor, is a subsidiary of RE / MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: RMAX). With a passion for the communities where its agents live and work, RE / MAX is proud to have raised millions of dollars for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® and other charities. For more information about RE / MAX, to search property listings, or to find a real estate agent in your community, please visit www.remax.ca.

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SOURCE RE / MAX Canada