TORONTO REGIONAL MARKET REPORT – OCTOBER 2023

HOME SALES ARE DOWN, BUT PRICES ARE UP

As we edge towards the end of 2023, real estate activity tends to always taper down during ths time of year. When you look back at October, you will find that:

Lack of affordability and uncertainty remained issues for many would-be home buyers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in October 2023. As a result, sales edged lower compared to last year. However, selling prices remained higher than last year’s levels.

“Record population growth and a relatively resilient GTA economy have kept the overall demand for housing strong. However, more of that demand has been pointed at the rental market, as high borrowing costs and uncertainty on the direction of interest rates has seen many would-be home buyers remain on the sidelines in the short term. When mortgage rates start trending lower, home sales will pick up quickly,” said TRREB President Paul Baron.

REALTORS® reported 4,646 GTA home sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in October 2023 – down 5.8 per cent compared to October 2022. On a month-over-month seasonally-adjusted basis, sales were also down in comparison to September.

New listings in October 2023 were up noticeably compared to the 12-year low reported in October 2022, but up more modestly compared to the 10-year average for October. New listings, on a seasonally adjusted basis, edged slightly lower month-over-month compared to September 2023.

The October 2023 MLS® Home Price Index Composite benchmark and the average selling price were both up on year-over-year basis, by 1.4 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the MLS® HPI Composite benchmark edged lower compared to September 2023 while the average selling price remained at a similar level. Both the MLS® HPI Composite benchmark and average price remained above the cyclical lows experienced at the beginning of 2023.

“Competition between buyers remained strong enough to keep the average selling price above last year’s level in October and above the cyclical lows experienced in the first quarter of this year. The Bank of Canada also noted this resilience in its October statement. However, home prices remain well-below their record peak reached at the beginning of 2022, so lower home prices have mitigated the impact of higher borrowing costs to a certain degree,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.

OCTOBER TRREB Market Report