Toronto home sales up 16.5 per cent

The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) recently released its November figures, and higher prices and strong home sales volumes continue to be the story, which means that the Toronto real estate market is either in great or dangerous shape, depending on who you ask.
 
There were 8,547 sales in the GTA in November, up 16.5 per cent year-over-year. The average home price was $776,684, which was up 22.7 per cent from November 2015, and the home price index was up just over 20 per cent, according to TREB.
 
"Home buying activity remained strong across all market segments in November.  However, many would-be home buyers continued to be frustrated by the lack of listings, as annual sales growth once again outstripped growth in new listings. Seller's market conditions translated into robust rates of price growth," said TREB president Larry Cerqua.

The average price for full-detached house in the 416 area was nearly $1.35 million, up 32.3 per cent from the same time last year while the comparable type of house in the 905 area had an average price of $957,517, up 25.5 per cent.
   
 Although the average home prices in the city of Toronto is higher than the surrounding areas, there’s still something to be said for the rapidly rising prices of areas outside of the downtown core. Earlier this year, CMHC declared the housing situation in the city of Hamilton to be "strongly problematic" and while a booming housing market may be good for local real estate, it's not so good for residents, who end up having to go farther out of the city to find housing tha is more in line with their incomes. 

For the TREB market area as a whole, sales were up on a year-over-year basis for all major home types. The strongest annual rates of sales growth were experienced for the townhouse and condominium apartment segments.
 
“Recent policy initiatives seeking to address strong home price growth have focused on demand. Going forward, more emphasis needs to be placed on solutions to alleviate the lack of inventory for all home types, especially in the low-rise market segments,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s director of market analysis.

In January 2017, TREB will be releasing its second annual Market Year in Review & Outlook Report.  This report will contain a more in-depth discussion on the current state and future direction of the housing market in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Detailed findings from Member and consumer surveys conducted by Ipsos will be released, including consumer intentions, buyer profiles and foreign buying activity.  The results of a TREB-commissioned study on transportation infrastructure on housing affordability will also be presented.
 
Meanwhile, 3,000 miles away, Vancouver’s housing market seems to be sliding back into the realm of reality. Home sales in the Vancouver area were 2,214, down .9 per cent from October 2016 and down 37.2 per cent from November 2015.
 
“While 2016 has been anything but a normal year for the Metro Vancouver housing market, supply and demand totals have returned to more historically normal levels over the last few months,” Vancouver board president Dan Morrison said.

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