A slight decline in Toronto’s condo apartment listings during the third quarter of the year might have led to fewer investor-owned units, according to the city’s real estate board.
“Condominium apartments are obviously a popular choice amongst first-time home-buyers. Moreover, it is also important to remember that condominium apartments owned by investors represent a huge component of the GTA rental stock and certainly account for most additions to the rental stock, on net, over the past decade,” TREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer stated in a news release.
During Q3 2019, a total of 9,538 new listings were added to the region’s condo inventory. This represented a comparatively muted 1% annual drop.
This lower number may be attributed to lower condo apartment completions year-to-date through August, per figures from the CMHC. The phenomenon could have “translated into fewer investor-owned units being listed for sale in Q3 2019 compared to Q3 2018,” Mercer explained.
“With this in mind, a well-supplied condo segment will be important moving forward to ensure that we can keep up with population growth driven by a strong and diverse regional economy,” he added.
Reflecting this consistent demand, the region’s average price for condos went up by 5.8% during the quarter ending September 2019, settling at $584,564.
The asset class remains among Toronto’s most active and lucrative housing segments. Sales went up by 11.1% year-over-year during Q3 2019, for a total of 6,407 condominium apartment sales through the Board’s MLS® System.
“As economic conditions continue to be favourable for job growth in the Greater Toronto Area, people have continued to come to the city for work. Home ownership is important to many Canadians, and, as a relatively affordable housing option, condos in the GTA offer prospective buyers the chance to achieve their dreams of owning property,” TREB president Michael Collins noted.
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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