March 2018 – A Bright Horizon - The New Street Resale Real Estate Report for The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Region
The Spring months always bring a sense of renewal and the real estate market is no exception. A historically great time to be a buyer and seller, there is always a slight increase in homes for sale and sold in the months after winter dissipates and conditions get better for weekend open-houses. As we've mentioned in previous months, we're seeing a general decrease in the number of sales and price points from last year, which was one of the most elevated real-estate years on record for Toronto and the GTA. Normalcy seems to be returning to the market as we experience modest increases month-to-month. From last month we're seeing a 2.2% average price increase for the Toronto Real Estate Board and a minor 0.7% decrease from the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington stats. We'll explore in more detail the positive impact of condominium prices and sales and the slow come-back of single detached housing as the market stabalizes and continues the 2018 trend of modest but dependable growth.
GTA & Hamilton Home Prices - TREB & RABH MLS Systems - Last 12 Month
A deeper dive into the stats is showing a positive upswing month-to-month almost across the board in both the TREB and RAHB market. Home sales are up by 39% from last month and the amount of days it takes to sell a home is down by 20% in both markets. This shows us that the reluctance to buy, that was plaguing the market since January is wearing off, and some consistency is beginning to return to sales and absorption rates. Also adding to this positive air is an almost 50% rise in new listings from last month for both markets. Spring is historically a busy buying and selling season, and it looks like the market is showing that trend is on course in 2018.
GTA & Hamilton Homes Sales Stats – March 2018
When we evaluate the sales by home type for the Toronto Real Estate board, we see the following insights:
- We're finally seeing a upswing in sales throughout the 905 area, especially with detached and semi-detached, up a staggering 46% for both
- Semi-detached sales are up by over 60% from last month in Toronto
- Condominiums maintain their moderate but steady rise in pricing. Up 6.1% overall from last year and 4% from last month
GTA Sales & Average Price by Home Type - March 2018
The Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington MLS System reported fairly positive numbers from last month as well, with the number of sales up 42.8% for freehold and 29.1% for condomiums from last month. As with TREB, condos keep a steady and modest increase, up 2.3% from last month and down by only 1.6% from last year. Freehold homes experienced a slight decrease in average price, down 2.0% from last month and a 15.5% decrease from last year.
Hamilton & Burlington Sales & Average Price by Home Type - March 2018
As we look to the map below, we can begin to examine how the market is performing on a more local level in the Hamilton and Southwestern Ontario area:
Hamilton Area
The Hamilton area saw a increase in sales across the board, but also experienced a collective decrease in average price from both last month and this time last year.
- Hamilton West saw a increase in sales from last month of over 50%, down 40% from last year
- Hamilton West also saw a decrease in average pricing of 2.2% from last month
- Hamilton Centre saw a 24.7% increase in sales from last month, and a 7.1% decrease in average price from last month
- Hamilton East experienced a 23.6% increase in sales and a 12.5% decrease in price from last month
- Hamilton Mountain was the only area to experience a increase in average price from last month, at 2.1%, as well as a 60% increase in sales from last month
Waterdown
- Waterdown experienced a staggering 112.5% increase in sales from last month, at 34 sales. This amounted to a 9.5% increase in average price from last month
Dundas
- Dundas experienced an increase in average price; up 9.1% from last month and 4.5% from last year
Flamborough
- Similarly, Flamborough experienced a 11.3% increase in average price from last month; up a staggering 31.7% from last year
Grimsby
- Grimsby had a total of 46 sales, up 35.3% from last month and 7% from last year
- Grimsby also experienced an increase in average price of 4.3% from last year, to $582,101
Dunville
- Dunville had an extremely positive month, sales were up by 58.3% (19 sales)
- Dunville also saw a price increase of 14.2% from last month and a whopping 48.1% from last year to $456,415
Hamilton & Southwestern Ontario Prices & Sales by Community (RAHB's MLS System) - March 2018
Looking into more detail at the GTA region, we can continue to see an increase in month-to-month sales and moderate growths in average pricing, particularly for condominium. Some notable increases increase condos in Toronto West, which saw a 13.9% increase in average price and condos and condo towns in Halton Hills, which saw a 26% and 4% increase in prices respectively. Overall average pricing in Halton Hills was up 11.6% from last month and 2.7% from last year. Other notable insights include:
Toronto
- Sales are up across Toronto by 34-41% from February
- Toronto West saw an increase in average price of 7.2%, and Toronto East experienced a marginal increase of 0.2%, while Toronto Central experienced a 1% decrease in average price from last month.
- Condos are up across the board in average price from February, up 13.9% in Toronto West, 6.7% in Toronto Central and 2% in Toronto East
- Toronto East is the most affordable option, with an average price of $744,057
- Toronto Central saw the most condo sales, at 1,386 sales.
Oakville
- The average price of a home in Oakville is still the highest in the GTA at $1,029,335, only marginally higher than Richmond Hill, whose average price is $1,027,674.
- Sales were up by almost over 25% from last month and overall prices very marginally, by 0.9%.
Mississauga
- Mississauga experienced a significant growth in number of sales, up almost 60% to 769
- Average overall price in March was up 9.3% to $716,690 in Mississauga from the previous month
- Condos were the only housing form to experience this increase, up 8.1% to $435,036
Milton
- Sales in Milton were up over 45% from February, down from last year by 30%, the lowest decrease in sales seen in any GTA city
- Average sales prices were up marginally from February in March at 1.7% to $696,354
- Condos in Milton were the only housing type to experience an increase in price from last month (1% to $432,035)
Brampton
- Brampton was the most affordable place to buy a home in February, with an average price of $690,888
- Average price was up 1.9% from last year, with condos being the only type of home to experience the increase (2.7% to $359,804)
York
- Sales activity trends in York are similar to the rest of GTA, particularly condos being the dominate housing type to experience a price increases from February
- Prices on average have increased from the previous month by 4-5% in Vaughan and Richmond Hill
- Markham and Newmarket saw more moderate increases in price of 0.5% and 0.7%
- Condos were up 34% in price in Newmaket to $536,421
- All municipalities in York saw an increase in number of sales from 13-44% from the previous month
Burlington
- Burlington experienced a 39% increase in sales from last month at 189, mostly detached homes
- Condos were the only type of housing that experienced a increase in average price; up 16.4% to $520,275
Halton Hills & Brampton
- Halton Hills was an outlier in terms of increase in average price, up 11.6% from last month and 2.7% from last year
- Halton Hills condos increased by 26.6% in average price from last month to $488,333
Condo towns in HH were up 4.2% from last year to $416,667 and towns were up 3.3% to $622,625.
GTA Prices & Sales by Area (TREB's MLS System) - March 2018
As we’ve discussed throughout the post, we’re seeing an overall increase in sales from February and a modest increase or marginal decrease in average price, across both markets. A common theme is the success of condos, from downtown Toronto all the way to the Southwestern communities. This may be as a result of both prices driving new homeowners to start with condos or the new mortgage rules pricing people out of the low-rise market for the time being. Whatever the reason, we're definitely beginning to see the market even itself out, with more buyers and sellers coming back in as Spring approaches and the fear of new market wears off. We predict that prices will continue to show moderate increases month-to-month, particularly in condos and condo towns and we expect to see similarity increases of 20-30+ percentages in sales as the warmer months progress. Check back in next month as we examine the TREB and RAHB numbers for March 2018. Let us know your thoughts on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Note: Many of the stats in this report use home type classifications and averages to provide a general idea of recent activity in the real estate market throughout the GTA and Hamilton regions. These averages give us a high-level summary of the real estate market throughout the region and within each city compared to the previous month and year. These stats may or may not be relevant to a particular home or homes within a particular community. To better understand the home value of any particular property it is best to request a CMA from a REALTOR® and analyze sales of comparable homes within close proximity of the subject property.
Opinions are my own and should not be taken as advice. Data Compiled by New Street from TREB (Toronto Real Estate Board) and RAHB (Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington). In association with Right at Home Realty Inc., Brokerage, 5111 New Street, Burlington, ON L7L 1V2. The information here is deemed reliable but not guaranteed by New Street, TREB or RAHB. Not intended to solicit listed properties or buyers under agency agreements.
.jpg)
