Home Sales Remain Strong in Big Cities as Demand Outstrips Supply
Housing inventory continued to fall well short of demand last month in most of Canada’s largest cities.
October numbers from some key regional real estate boards show no slowdown in housing demand as new listings continue to dry up and prices continued to rise.
In Vancouver, the supply of homes for sale dipped to a three-year low, while in the Greater Toronto Area the number of new listings was down by about a third.
“Both the ownership and rental markets have recovered from the relatively short–term effects of the pandemic, but competition for ownership and rental properties is once again tight,” said John DiMichele, CEO of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).
Here’s a look at October readings from some of the country’s key real estate boards:
Greater Toronto Area
Sales: 9,783
- -6.9% Year-over-year (YoY)
- +8.1% Month-over-month (MoM)
Average Price: $1,155,345
- +19.3% (YoY)
- +1.7% (MoM)
New Listings: 11,740
- -34% (YoY)
- -12.9% (MoM)
“The only sustainable way to address housing affordability in the GTA is to deal with the persistent mismatch between demand and supply. Demand isn’t going away,” TRREB said in a release. “The tight market conditions across all market segments and areas of the GTA is testament to the broadening scope of economic recovery in the region and household confidence that this recovery will continue.”
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB)
Greater Vancouver Area
Sales: 3,494
- -5.2% YoY
- +11% MoM
Despite the decline from last year’s record figures, sales were still 22.4% above the 10-year average for October.
MLS Home Price Index for all property types: $1,199,400
- +14.7% YoY
- +1.1% MoM
New Listings: 4,049
- -27.3% YoY
- -21.7% MoM
“Home sale activity continues to outpace what’s typical for this time of year and the pool of homes available for sale is in decline. This dynamic between supply and demand is causing home prices to continue to edge up across the region,” said Keith Stewart, an REBGV economist. “Rising fixed mortgage rates should eventually help ease demand, but for now sales remain strong and buyers with rate holds will remain motivated to find a property for the rest of the year.”
Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV)
Montreal Census Metropolitan Area
Sales: 4,320
- -24% YoY
- +17.7% MoM
Median Price (single-family detached): $515,000
- +20% YoY
- +2.1% MoM
Average Price (condo): $379,000
- +18% YoY
- +4.1% MoM
New Listings: 5,515
- +20% YoY
- -5.2% MoM
“The decline in sales to pre-pandemic levels is still attributable to the large deficit of active listings in the market. Make no mistake, there is still a significant number of buyers in the market and overheating is still a factor. We are seeing renewed upward pressure on prices across all property categories,” said Charles Brant, director of market analysis for QPAREB. “The recent announcement by the Bank of Canada of a hike in the key interest rate in spring 2022, sooner than expected, could help maintain some enthusiasm until then.”
Source: Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB)
Calgary
Sales: 2,186
- +24% YoY
- +1.3% MoM
Benchmark Price (all housing types): $460,100
- +9% YoY
- +0.5% MoM
New Listings: 2,500
- +2% YoY
- -53.6% MoM
“Moving into the fourth quarter, the pace of housing demand continues to exceed expectations in the city,” said CREB chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “Much of the persistent strength is likely related to improving confidence in future economic prospects, as well as a sense of urgency among consumers to take advantage of the low-lending-rate environment.”
Source: Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB)
Ottawa
Sales: 1,677
- -21% YoY
- +4.4% MoM
Average Price (single-family detached): $716,378
- +19% YoY
- +2% MoM
New Listings: 1,960
- +1.2% YoY
- -13% MoM
“While the number of units sold followed the traditional trajectory, the lack of supply continues to put upward pressure on prices, which are holding strong and steadily increasing,” said Ottawa Real Estate Board President Debra Wright. “Low inventory and a lack of suitable housing options restrict movement along the housing spectrum. Move-up buyers and downsizers have nowhere to go, so they stay in place, but we need that exchange of properties in the marketplace to free up supply for entry-level homebuyers.”
Source: Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB)