Canada’s housing market continued its downward trend in 2022, with a third decrease in the volume of home sales compared to the previous year and a drop in house prices by over 10%. The average price of a home in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was $1,159,763 in October 2021, but decreased by 5% to $1,098,502 a year later.
Sales Activity in November 2022 According to the Toronto Region Real Estate Board, the average price for all property types in November 2022 was $1,079,39, a decrease of 7.2% compared to November 2021 ($1,162,564). The low sales activity in the homeownership market was largely driven by rising interest rates and affordability issues.
New Listings and Sales Decline The number of new listings was historically low in November 2022, and the average selling price stayed between $1.08 and $1.09 million due to limited availability of homes. The GTA REALTORS® reported 4,544 sales in November 2022, a 49% decrease compared to November 2021, but similar to October 2022 when accounting for the seasonal decline in fall. Both the year-over-year and month-over-month new listings (8,880) decreased.
Price Declines and Market Balance The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark was down by 5.5% year-over-year in November 2022, and the average selling price for all home types was down by 7.2% year-over-year. The annual price declines were higher for more expensive market segments, such as detached and semi-detached houses. TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer stated that prices declined from the early year peak and have flatlined alongside average monthly mortgage payments since the summer as the market became more balanced and homebuyers sought to mitigate the impact of higher borrowing costs.
Toronto Housing Market Forecast for 2023 Re/Max Canada’s housing market forecast for 2023 projects a modest decline of 3.3% in average residential sales prices across the country, with the average price of a home in the GTA projected to decrease by about 12%. With rising interest rates and a potential recession, most regions will experience more balanced market conditions in 2023.
Summary of Toronto Housing Market in November 2022
- The average home sold price in the Toronto area decreased 7% year-over-year to $1,079,395 in November 2022.
- The slowdown in the Toronto housing market was supported by limited supply on the market.
- The average price of detached homes decreased 11% year-over-year to $1.39M.
- The average price of semi-detached homes decreased 14% year-over-year to $1.04M.
- The average price of freehold townhouses decreased 9% year-over-year to $994k.
- The condo apartment average price remained the same year-over-year.
Conclusion The Toronto housing market continued to face challenges in 2022, with a decrease in sales and prices. However, with a more balanced market in 2023, as projected by Re/Max Canada, the future outlook for the housing market may improve.
Sources:
- https://trreb.ca/index.php/news/news-releases
- https://wowa.ca/toronto-housing-market
- https://blog.remax.ca/canadian-real-estate-outlook/
