February 2024 - Market Upswing Hype Or Reality?
There's been some hype in the media about a big market upswing during February, but is that hype justified?
February sales in TRREB totalled 5,604 which was 18% above last year's dismal number. However, over the last ten years, the month's average sales number was just barely under 7,000 so we have a way to go yet.
What was significant was the low number of active listings (11,102) which resulted in a modest 51% 'seller's market' ratio of sales-to-listings.
The TRREB average sale price this February was $1,108,720 which came in at 1% above last year's number.
Looking at the City of Toronto itself, the detached house average sale price ($1,657,026) was down -3% from 2023 but just -2% lower than the average back in 2021.
For semi-detached houses the average sale price ($1,319,884) increased by +3% from 2023 and was unchanged from the average in 2021.
For the first month in a while, the downtown C01 condo average ($801,450) was up +1% from February 2023 but the condo average sale price in C08 east of Yonge ($710,063) was -3% lower.
Thomas
FEBRUARY 2024 Toronto Real Estate Market Report
Here’s a ‘highlights’ summary of the significant real estate milestones across the entire Toronto Real Estate Board territory and in the City of Toronto specifically for FEBRUARY 2024 as we slide towards the spring market.
Across the entire TRREB Board, FEBRUARY sales (5,607) were +18% above last year
Active Listings (11,102) however were +15% above those in February 2023
The ratio of sales-to-listings rose once again during the month to 51% in February – venturing into a modest sellers market
The February average sale price came in at $1,108,720– slightly above the 2023 average and +1% compared to one year ago
The GTA real estate market ‘velocity’ sped up somewhat to 25 days-on-market
Detached home sales in February 2024 with a purchase price over $2,000,000 were up by +13% (326 houses) while condo apartment sales over $2M decreased by -13% (13 suites) compared to February 2023
The CONDO townhouse / highrise share of the overall market dropped slightly to 37% during the month and all condo-type sales (2,048) jumped by +13% from 2023
In the City of Toronto only, detached house sales (568) increased by +18% from 2023 while the average detached sale price ($1,657,026) was lower by -3% from a year ago
Similarly, February Toronto semi-detached sales (181) were up by +26% year-over-year while the average semi sale price ($1,319,884) increased by +3%
Downtown condo active listing numbers were up big time… an increase of 38% in C01 and by 41% in C08 from last year
February year-over-year downtown condo sales increased in C01 (+6%) and were up in C08 (+1%) compared to 2023
The downtown condo days-on-market average stayed relatively steady at between 31 & 35 days in both C01 and C08
The February ratio of sales-to-listings for high-rise condos downtown moved up although still in buyer market territory in both C01 (25%) and in C08 (23%), defined mainly by the large increase in condo suite inventories
In the 905 districts, February saw average detached home prices up by 2% compared to 2023 while condo apartment prices in the 905 districts were lower by -3% compared to last year. Sales numbers were all positive (+22% houses / +14% condos) from one year ago
With 5-year fixed mortgages now available in the 5.09% range, the market might be recognizing that rates in the 4-5% range might be the new normal and they’re unlikely to change much in the next 6-12 months
Thomas@LivingInToronto.com
647-962-1650