Low borrowing costs and homeownership affordability helped boost year-over-year growth for both sales and prices last month. Overall sales in the GTA last month increased by 7.2 per cent compared to March 2013's 7,537 sales, climbing up to 8,081 sales last month.
Toronto Skyline By elPadawan
Compared to last year, a greater number of buyers found affordable home ownership options, as evidenced by sales growth for all major home types. Against this backdrop, however, overall inventory at the end of March remained lower than last year. This means competition between buyers increased, which is why the average selling price continued to climb,
said Toronto Real Estate Board president Dianne Usher.
The City of Toronto's Sales
The City of Toronto's total sales increased to 2,978 sales in March 2014, compared to 2,826 sales in March 2013. Condo apartment sales experienced a 6.9 per cent raise compared to March 2013, reaching 1,331 units. Detached house sales increased 6.5 per cent compared to March 2013. In total, 1,011 units sold. Semi-detached house sales decreased 11.8 per cent year-over-year, with 202 units sold last month. Townhouses saw 304 properties sold last month, representing a rise of 2.7 per cent compared to March 2013.
Sales Activity in Toronto
GTA Prices
The average selling price for last month's transactions in the GTA was $557,684, a 7.8 per cent rise compared to March 2013's average selling price of $517,232. Jason Mercer, TREB's senior manager of market analysis, predicts prices will keep growing:
With borrowing costs remaining low and in fact declining, strong home ownership demand will continue to butt up against a constrained supply of listings. Strong price growth will be the result for the remainder of 2014.
The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark Price was $497,600, representing an increase of 7.37 per cent year-over-year.
Number of Listings on the Market in Toronto
The City of Toronto's Prices
Last month's average selling price in the City of Toronto reached $597,401 — an increase from the March 2013 average price of $560,661. The March condo apartment market, with an average price of $384,865, posted 5.1 per cent growth compared to March 2013. Townhouse properties' average price increased 7.7 per cent year-over-year, reaching $483,639 per unit in March 2014. Detached houses saw a 6.8 per cent increase compared to March last year, with an average of $898,332 per unit. Semi-detached houses increased 8.7 per cent, with an average price of $658,429 per unit.
GTA Sales Activity
The Toronto Central C02 Area
The March real estate market brought 124 new listings, bumping the overall number of active listings in the C02 area up to 229. In March, the average price in the C02 area reached $1,139,617, which was $44,747 more than in February.
Number of Listings on the Market in GTA
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