It’s A Tale Of Two Markets…

Hi, I’m Thomas Cook from Toronto's Real Estate Team at RE/MAX and here is our NOVEMBER 2020 Toronto real estate market report.
 
We’ve had some exceptional highs and some surprising lows in November.
 
So… let’s review some of the Toronto Real Estate Board statistics and see what’s happened.
 
Big numbers came in once again for November as we’re now ending the fall market with record sales of 8,766 sales of houses and condos across the GTA.  Low interest rates and high demand are continuing to boost our local market.
 
Sales were up 24% from November 2019.
 
Condo townhouse and high-rise suite sales were up by 12% with a 31.3% share of the market and 2,746 units being sold.  Although not a record, November 2020 sales were the 3^rd highest ever with a higher number of townhouses being sold making the difference.
 
The November average sale price for all GTA homes came in at $955,615… a big 13.3% increase compared to one year ago.
 
The active listing inventory is one of the strongest indicators of how slow or fast the market has been moving.  The inventory average for the month of November compared to historical numbers was higher by 15.4% (mainly condo suites) compared to last year at this time.
 
Compare that slight inventory increase to a 24% year-over-year sales increase.  That’s why we’re seeing such a big jump in appreciation.
 
The sales-to-listings OR percent-chance-of-selling ratio is how we determine what type of market we’re actually in.  24-28% is a neutral market, below 24% is a buyer’s market and above 28% is a seller’s market.
 
With our busy market… the November ratio increased slightly to 63.5% to maintain a very busy seller’s market.
 
The days-on-market average for GTA / Toronto homes increased by 2 days to 19 days.

Here’s a snapshot summary of the significant real estate milestones for Toronto in November 2020 as we finish the 9^th month of the coronavirus pandemic.

• November sales were 23.6% higher than last year (8,766) – a record for November on TRREB
• The ratio of sales-to-listings increased slightly to 63.5% in November – keeping us in busy seller market territory
• The November average sale price came in at $955,615– 13.3% above one year ago as we head into the typical holiday slowdown period
• The GTA real estate market overall averaged 19 days-on-market
• Detached home sales in November 2020 with a purchase price over $2,000,000 were up a big 86% (327 houses) while condo apartment sales over $2M were lower by a significant 29% (10 suites) compared to November 2019
• The CONDO share of the market increased slightly to 31.3% during the month
• Downtown condo active listing numbers were UP by a big 249% in C01 and by 317% in C08 from last year at this time
• November year-over-year downtown condo sales were up by 8.6% in C01 and basically flat in C08 compared to 2019
• The downtown condo days-on-market average was 24 days (C01) and 26 days (C08)
• The ratio of sales-to-listings for condos downtown continued to show significant declines in C01 (from 68% in 2019 to 21.3%) and in C08 (from 83% in 2019 to 20.3%) putting both condo districts into weak buyer market territory
• Even when influenced by much higher inventories due to lower tenant demand, lower immigration into Toronto and restrictions on Airbnb rentals, adjusted running average condo prices still beat those seen in November 2019
• However, if you looked at specific numbers for just the month of November, the Y-O-Y average was down 8% in C01 ($753,000 vs $693,600 now) and 10% in C08 ($759,500 vs $684,000 now)… this may foreshadow bigger actual average prices in the coming months
• Despite the doom and gloom you see in the media about the combination condo townhouse and high-rise suite market, November saw the 3^rd highest month for condo sales… partially due to a higher number of condo townhouses selling
• November saw detached homes in the 905 appreciate by an average 19% while sales were up 34%.  905 condo apartment sales were up 23% while average sale prices rose by 5%
• We can expect the market to slow over the next 30-45 days as we pass through the holiday season, but, with the advent of a successful COVID vaccine, the market will likely remain strong through the springtime buying/selling season