Of the Greater Toronto Area’s residential property types, detached homes magnetized the strongest demand in the market last month, according to updated numbers from the Toronto Real Estate Board.
Sales volume in the asset class grew by a significant 21.9% annually, markedly above the average sales growth (16.8% year-over-year for a total of 9,042 transactions) across all housing types.
Price growth considerably lagged behind, however, with only a 1.9% annual gain to reach $820,148. Much of the weakness stemmed from the inhibiting influence of B-20’s mortgage stress tests, TREB stated
“While sales were up year-over-year in April, it is important to note that they remain well below April levels for much of the past decade,” TREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer explained, as quoted by BNN Bloomberg.
“Many potential homebuyers arguably remain on the sidelines as they reassess their options in light of the OSFI-mandated two percentage point stress test on mortgages.”
Ontario Real Estate Association CEO Tim Hudak said early last week that the federal government should now consider a sharp about-face from the policy, warning that it has already done damage “beyond what many thought was the worst case.”
Despite the boost provided by a healthy economic engine, there were 11% fewer housing resales natonwide in 2018 compared to the year prior, Hudak estimated.
“Not only are many people unable to become home owners at all; others can’t upgrade as their families grow, which in turn means they aren’t selling their starter homes to people trying to buy for the first time,” he wrote in a contribution for Financial Post.
Ephraim is currently a journalist at Mortgage Broker News, Real Estate Professional and Canadian Real Estate Wealth.
Ephraim is a highly accomplished news reporter whose work has been published across North America and the Asia Pacific region. Before joining Key Media, Ephraim spent eight years working as a journalist with Reuters TV. His areas of expertise include real estate, mortgage, and finance.
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