January 2024 - Buyers Are Back... Maybe
January certainly had a boost in buyer activity with 4,223 sales in the GTA (average month's sales over the past 10 years is just slightly higher at 4,651). The warmer / no snow weather probably helped too as did talk of inflation holding steady.
With the best 5-year fixed rate mortgage down to 5.09%, and future, maybe modest, interest rate cuts not likely till late spring or early summer, many buyers might be getting used to the idea that rates in the 4-5% range aren't so bad.
Prices year-over-year held up well too. Detached Toronto house average sale price was up 6% while semis were up by 4%. Averages for downtown condos west of Yonge were up a modest 2% while those east of Yonge declined by -1%.
Take a look a my Market Summary below as well as my Market Infographic.
Thomas
JANUARY 2024 Toronto Real Estate Market Report
Here’s a ‘highlights’ summary of the significant real estate milestones across the entire Toronto Real Estate Board territory and in the City of Toronto specifically for JANUARY 2024 as we start off the new year.
Across the entire TRREB Board, JANUARY sales (4,223) were +37% above last year and were almost average for the month
Active Listings (10,3093) however were +9% above those in January 2023
The ratio of sales-to-listings was up slightly again at 42% in January – a modest start towards a busier market
The January average sale price came in at $1,026,703– slightly below the 2023 average and -1% compared to one year ago
The GTA real estate market ‘velocity’ overall slowed even more to 37 days-on-market
Detached home sales in January 2024 with a purchase price over $2,000,000 were up by +18% (175 houses) while condo apartment sales over $2M increased by +9% (12 suites) compared to January 2023
The CONDO townhouse / highrise share of the overall market was up slightly to 39% during the month and all condo-type sales (1,658) jumped by +75% from 2023
In the City of Toronto only, detached house sales (342) increased by +7.5% from 2023 while the average detached sale price ($1,570,520) was up +5.7% from a year ago
Similarly, January Toronto semi-detached sales (106) were up by +26% year-over-year while the average semi sale price ($1,199,531) increased by +4%
Downtown condo active listing numbers were up big time… an increase of 24% in C01 and by 40% in C08 from last year
January year-over-year downtown condo sales increased in C01 (+32%) and were up in C08 (+159%) compared to 2023
The downtown condo days-on-market average slowed again to between 38 & 45 days in both C01 and C08
The January ratio of sales-to-listings for high-rise condos downtown moved up although still in buyer market territory in both C01 (24%) and in C08 (26%), defined mainly by the huge increase in condo suite inventories
In the 905 districts, January saw average detached home prices basically flat compared to 2023 while condo apartment prices in the 905 districts were lower by -3% compared to last year. Sales here showed contrasts (+33% houses / +31% condos) from one year ago
With 5-year fixed mortgages now available in the 5.09% range, the market might be recognizing that rates in the 4-5% range might be the new normal
Thomas@LivingInToronto.com
647-962-1650