Almost 20,000 new properties came up for sale across the GTA in May with the strongest growth in sales of resale homes in the 905 regions, in part because of buyers looking to avoid the costly Toronto land transfer tax, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.
The more than 20 per cent surge in new listings brought some much-needed common sense back to a market that’s been unusually hot since December and saw fewer, or at least less frantic, bidding wars for prime properties, especially in coveted 416 neighbourhoods, realtors say.
The 19,177 new listings—after months of fewer than usual resale properties coming on the market, especially in Toronto—didn’t do a lot, however, to cool escalating house prices.
The average price of a resale house in the GTA hit $516,787 in May, up 6.5 per cent from $485,362 in May, 2011, according to the monthly house sales figures released by TREB Tuesday. That price growth was driven by the low-rise house market, rather than the high-rise condo market, the report notes.
The sudden rush of spring market supply, a welcome relief during what’s usually one of the busiest home buying and selling months of the year, may bode well for buyers down the road, says TREB.
“...If new listings continue to grow at the pace they did in May for the remainder of 2012, the annual rate of price growth should begin to moderate on a sustained basis,” says Jason Mercer, senior manager of market analysis for TREB.
The lack of an adequate supply of listings has been puzzling both analysts and realtors for some time, with demand—largely thanks to low interest rates—far outstripping supply of single-family homes. Some housing experts have blamed Toronto’s land transfer tax for putting off some Toronto residents from listing their homes and picking up that added up-front cost of moving. Others have raised concerns that baby boomers may be simply staying in their homes longer than anyone had anticipated, and not downsizing nearly as soon as many had expected.
Some 10,850 homes changed hands across the GTA in May, 6,720 of them in the 905 regions. The average price of a home in the 416 regions hits $568,768 in May compared to $484,840 in the 905 regions.
That’s up from 9,766 sales in May of 2011 when the price of the average resale home in the 416 area was $536,655 compared to $451,680 in the 905 regions.
Source: http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1206031--toronto-real-estate-s-sudden-surge-in-gta-homes-for-sale
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