TORONTO REGIONAL MARKET REPORT – JANUARY 2023

 As we welcome February 2023, The Toronto Real Estate market has again proven to be more resilient than expected at the beginning of the year. In addition, the past few weeks have seen an increase in the number of buyers and investors who have been patiently observing the market for a while and are now considering or making plans to enter the market. It will be interesting to see buyer activity in the upcoming weeks, as the market seems to be stabilizing and as we enter the spring market. This months Market Report outlines just this.  

As we moved from 2022 into 2023, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market unfolded as expected. The number of January sales and the overall average selling price were similar to December 2022. On a year-on-year basis, both sales and prices were down markedly, continiung to higlight the impact of higher borrowing costs on affordability over the last year.

“Home sales and selling prices appear to have found some support in recent months. This coupled with the Bank of Canada announcement that interest rate hikes are likely on hold for the foreseeable future will prompt some buyers to move off the sidelines in the coming months. Record population growth and tight labour market conditions will continue to support housing demand moving forward,” said Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) President Paul Baron.

GTA REALTORS® reported 3,100 sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in January 2023 – in line with the December 2022 result of 3,110, but down 44.6 percent from January 2022. The average selling price for January 2023 at $1,038,668 was slightly lower than the December 2022 result and down by 16.4 percent compared to the January 2022 average price reported before the onset of Bank of Canada interest rate hikes. 

“Home prices declined over the past year as homebuyers sought to mitigate the impact of substantially higher borrowing costs. While short-term borrowing costs increased again in January, negotiated medium-term mortgage rates, like the five-year fixed rate, have actually started to trend lower compared to the end of last year. The expectation is that this trend will continue, further helping with affordability as we move through 2023,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer. 

- TRREB Market Watch January 2023 -