Monthly Market Update – February 2020
Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 7,256 residential transactions through TRREB’s MLS® System in February 2020, representing a 45.6% increase compared to a 10-year sales low in February 2019.
However, February 2020 sales were still below the 2017 record result. Year-over-year sales growth, for the GTA as a whole, was strongest for ground-oriented home types. After preliminary seasonal adjustment, February 2020 sales up by 14.8% compared to January 2020.
“Sales growth will be strong this year. However, the annual pace of sales growth experienced in February will likely not be sustained throughout the year, because we will be making comparisons to much stronger sales results reported after the first quarter of 2019,” said Mr. Collins. New listings amounted to 10,613 in February 2020, a 7.9% increase compared to February 2019. This moderate annual growth rate was much smaller than that reported for sales, which means market conditions tightened considerably over the past year. “Sales growth well in excess of listings growth is once again the norm… As market conditions tightened over the past year, competition between buyers has clearly increased. This resulted in a further acceleration in year-over-year price growth in February.
The average selling price for all home types combined was up by 16.7% to $910,290. Double-digit average price growth was experienced for most major market segments, including detached houses and condominium apartments.
“TRREB’s current average price forecast is for 10% price growth to $900,000 in 2020. While this outlook represents a very robust pace of growth, it is possible that further tightening in the detached market segment could push the overall average selling price above TRREB’s baseline scenario. This could unfold if sales growth continues to outstrip new listing growth to the degree it has so far in 2020,” said Jason Mercer, TRREB’s Chief Market Analyst. (Courtesy of TREB)
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