Greater Toronto real estate has seen sales surge, and the detached market is leading the way. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data shows detached sales nearly reached a record high in August. Most of the activity surge has been in the 905 suburbs, but the City’s buyers don’t seem to have noticed. The City is seeing prices rise at the same rate, despite the market not being nearly as tight as in the suburbs.
Greater Toronto Detached Prices Rise Over 11%
The price of a typical detached home is soaring, and it doesn’t really matter where in Greater Toronto. TRREB’s detached benchmark reached $1,054,300 in August, up 11.79% from the same month last year. The City of Toronto benchmark reached $1,267,200, up a relatively similar 11.85% from last year. Both numbers aren’t just very high, they’re growing at a much faster rate than when the economy was doing “well.”
Toronto Detached Benchmark Price
The price of a typical detached home across the Toronto Real Estate Board, in Canadian dollars.
Source: TREB, Better Dwelling.The benchmark price of a detached home is growing at the fastest rate in years. Both TRREB and the City of Toronto’s benchmarks are growing at a similar pace. This is the highest rate of growth since 2017, when the market actually saw new restrictions to contain price growth.
Toronto Detached Benchmark Percent Change
The 12 month percent change of a typical detached home across the Toronto Real Estate Board.
Source: TREB, Better Dwelling.The median sales price was less, but increased much more than the benchmark price. TRREB’s median sale price increased to $1,010,000 in August, up 18.77% from a year before. The City of Toronto median detached house went fro $1,200,000, up 24.10% from a year before. This means over half of homes in the 905 went for 4% above the benchmark, and more than half in the city went 5% below the benchmark. A bit of an oddity.
Toronto Detached Average Sale Price
The average sale price of a detached house in the Toronto Real Estate Board.
Source: TREB, Better Dwelling.The average sale price for detached homes made a similar increase to the median. TRREB’s average sale price reached $1,172,880 in August, up 19.9% from last year. The City of Toronto average increased $1,505,100, up 21.4% from the same month last year. The City’s average is much higher than the benchmark, indicating a rise in luxury sales.
Toronto Detached Average Sale Price Change
The 12 month percent change of average sale price across across TREB.
Source: TREB, Better Dwelling.Busiest August For Detached Home Sales Since 2016
Detached homes sales are still enjoying a delayed spring market. TRREB reported 5,429 detached sales in August, up 50.6% from last year. The City of Toronto represented 1,099 of those sales, up 65.3% from last year. This is just a few units under the record set for August in 2016. Once again, the demand shift from spring to summer due to the pandemic means this is a very different reason. However, to current buyers, it feels the same.
Toronto Detached August Sales
The total number of Greater Toronto detached sales made in the month of August.
Source: TREB, Better Dwelling.New Inventory Is Rising Much Faster In The City
The number of new listings failed to keep up in the suburbs, but showed similar growth to sales in the City. TRREB reported 8,301 new listings in August, up 33.54% from the same month last year. The City of Toronto represented 1,862 of those sales, up 63.52% from the same month last year. This means more pressure on inventory in the suburbs, reflected in the number of active listings.
Toronto Detached Sales Vs. New Listings
The total number of detached sales, compared to the number of new detached listings per month.
Source: TREB, Better Dwelling.The number of active listings, or total inventory, made a significant decline. TRREB reported 7,395 active listings in August, down 25.41% from the same month last year. The City of Toronto represented 1,675 of those listings, down 6.32% over the same period. The 905 is seeing detached inventory fall much faster than the City.
Toronto Active Detached Listings
The total number of detached listings available.
Source: TREB, Better Dwelling.Greater Toronto real estate has been extremely busy this summer, and most of that activity has been in detached markets. Despite the 905 becoming a much tighter market than the City, both are seeing prices rise at the same pace. This likely indicates cheap money and exuberance are much bigger influencers in the City than the suburbs.
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I used to be a Liberal supporter, but under their watch housing have become unaffordable. I make 6 figures, I check what kind of house I can afford in Toronto. It turns out I can only afford a home that is 250k just 10 years ago. So with all my hardwork I now have the standard of living of someone who makes 30k a year ten years ago.
Infact I have a lower standard of living than a factory worker who bought early. This government is corrupt, it is stealing our future via real estate speculation.
I will never support the Liberals again if they dont bring down home prices as they promised.
Infact if these prices dont come down I will be leaving this country along with my decades of taxation. This housing bubble is bad it will probably destroy Canada anyways, why be on a sinking ship. I used to love this country…
You’re right about the Liberals f-ing our housing up. Bringing in massive amounts of immigrants screwed the market. Even in my little town 150km away from Toronto, prices have more than doubled in the last 5 years and rent gets you nowhere trying to save.
Blaming any housing issues on politics is just a waste of time. It’s just another version of finger pointing. Where were you when people who couldn’t afford homes 10 years ago were crying foul. Now you complain because you have joined their ranks. Eventually the market will sort itself out. And if you really wanted that house you should have hustled ten years ago. People that bought turn aren’t complaining now. If you want to point a finger let’s talk about people who used equality to buy multiple properties. Until then try and develop some measure of objectivity so that we can all work together to try and sort this mess out.
Paul stop pretending there is no housing bubble.
Lets keep propping up this bubble until it destroy Canada socially and economically is a great idea.
So calling home prices and debt to return to reasonable level is somehow crazy?
You are the example of how insane and selfish this country have become.
Your comment does not apply to people who just graduated few years ago. They face student debt and crazy high house prices.
For those with decent income (tech, finance), I won’t blame them to go south where will get way more for their money.
Young, active people are the most able to move, and they should because the bill will be expensive here.
I will not vote liberals or PC, they are both corrupt, they created and maintained this problem.
New political movement needs to be formed, we need to rewrite the social contract. They are taxing us to keep boomers alive with free health care, force us into mars level debt just for a place to live. New generation are slaves, this is not how you treat our fellow Canadians, this is how to treat colonized slaves.
We need to fight back, housing is dignity, housing is human right.
Investigate real estate corruption now!
Thankfully there’s a third party. They also see housing as a human right. You should check them out.
The problem is that people like you only complain when it impacts you. This has been an issue for over15 years yet you voted for the pot smoking millennial gen xer leader who didn’t have this on his radar
What government in their right mind would go out of its way to destroy the housing market given what the private sector is already going through so that the few can get in cheap. I
A few? LOL.
Im making 6 figures and graduated from a top school. Im not even the average income earner. Imagine how people making 40k feel. An entire generation of Canadians are being screwed not just a few. And keep in mind about the future, once people turn away from Liberals they will never return. Thats decades of voters gone, boomers will be too old to vote in 10 years. The liberals are digging their own political grave by propping up this bubble and screwing young people.
People who are not speculators will not care if prices drop. Infact, if we force speculators to sell they will be forced to use that money to invest in something else which will help the recovery. Obviously you did not eve ln take eco101
We are not few now, we will become majority in time. This generation will fight back, we are not HongKong colonial slaves who will be passive and live in cage homes.
If you want to lower housing prices cut government spending and normalize interest rates, simple as that. Stop governments from buying-votes and placating public sector workers by using borrowed funds from future generation. No tax increases as this rewards the bureaucracy, Not burdening future generations is probably the most “unselfish” thing we can do
—we will become majority in time—
—This generation will fight back—
New Generation in Canada are sheeples – just take a look their reaction on Deadly Dangerous Pandemic when numbers shows opposite what narratives coming from politicians.
They don’t think – they believe what TV/radio/media tell them.
They going back (push all of us) to Soviet era times as they believe Socialism and Social are equal meanings and “free/public is good”.
You have no idea how stoked I am for my Brezhnev era style apartment from the workers collective. I’ve given up on capitalism helping me.
Alvi, you please your non sense. If w speculators are forced to sell their property they will have to put the money into the real economy like opening a business. Stop making non sense excuses, you are embarassing yourself here.
How do you think that those” greedy and .selfish” cabal of real estate speculators are funded?
Answer: Excessive monetary and fiscal stimulation. In other words too much “stimulation”, Liquidity is what fuels assets speculation.
Everyone is going to have the bite the bullet at some point and I mean everyone, not just those that work in the private sector. But that won’t happen because out “selfless and altruistic” political class cares more about re-election than future generations.
Thats why you make sure no excess liquidity go into real estate and fuel a bigger bubble.
For example a tax on home equity or speculator tax where anyone or corp owning more than 2 homes will be taxed. So the government not only gets taxation but it can also direct these excess liquidity back into the real economy.
Well first of all thanks for the response, but
1) Nothing is more real in an economy than housing
2)Increase in taxes in general is a non-starter, for me(and I know many don’t agree with me but that is the social contract and i may lose this figh) until every level of government has done its earnest to eliminate waste and duplication
3)The equity tax is one very massive non-starter even for many, even those of the left of political spectrum, seems unfair.I have taxes i can propose that you would find unfair
4)2 or more homes thing may be n interesting idea, needs refining for potential knock-on effects. Is it grandfathered? Can corporations own 2 or more apartment building for rentals? What happens when units are shifted through to other corporations? etc
Question: does anyone else feel priced out to the point of leaving the city? I can work anywhere in Canada, though I’d like to stay in Toronto given it’s large LGBT Community. I just don’t see the value in spending 500K on a small 1 bedroom condo. Everything seems so strange. The economy is shit, stores are closing, and Toronto housing has never been stronger. I’m at a loss for words. Please no negativity, I’m not an “expert” like some of the commenters on here.
Paul is not saying there’s no housing bubble, just that pointing fingers is not going to fix anything.
Blaming the Liberals for the housing bubble is just silly… People continue to buy here because the rest of the world is just too messed up, plain and simple. Explosions at ports, human rights being stripped, crazy racist president, massive wildfires, pandemic running rampant, Brexit shenanigans… Canada despite its problems seems like heaven in comparison! Even the 15% foreign tax isn’t deterring anyone.
Good luck leaving. I hope you enjoy it in the states… or China… or Europe with its crazy taxes. Australia is one place that seems okay, but word has it that their real estate situation is even worse than ours…
I’m also curious who you are referring to when you say “they” need to fix this. Last I checked we millenials are now entering leadership roles. How about leading the change you want to see?
“i’m also curious who you are referring to when you say “they” need to fix this. Last I checked we millenials are now entering leadership roles. How about leading the change you want to see”
Exactly Please lead the way, the torch has been passed to engage the world
You’re making a great case for some car bombs on Bay St. there friend.
Data shows record absorption rates but also record supply. Demand is still strong, so I’m guessing the air B and B units are what’s causing the influx???
Proof we probably should limit air B and B or apply a more significant tax to those units running as air B and B. They are after all commercial units, should be taxed at commercial rates