January 2019 Market Review

As expected, January was a slow month in the Toronto real estate market. Just 4,009 sales were reported, up a wee bit from 3,987 last January. (For reference, there were 5,188 in January 2017; 4,640 in January 2016; and 4,318 in January 2015, so the last couple of Januarys have been on the slower side.) The average sale price was $748,328, up just 1.7% from $735,874 this time last year. Basically, the market has been flat since then.

New listings increased 10.5%, to 9,456, and total active listings edged up 0.6% to 11,962. Remember, back in early 2017 when we saw the beginnings of that crazy price spike, there were just 5,034 active listings at the end of that January – down from 9,966 in 2016. That really highlights how super-tight the supply was in early 2017 – and it shows how important supply is and what it can do to the market.

The townhouse segment was the only one to see an increase in the number of sales year-over-year (+4.4% in the 416), and it also had the highest average price increase (+12.3%). At the other end of things, fully detached houses saw the biggest drop is number of sales (-8.6%) and the only decline in average sale price (-8.8%). Taking into account the various types and weighting the averages, the MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark price was up by 2.7% – still basically in line with inflation.

We are still in a time of year when the market is less busy – and the weather can have a real impact. (Think of the last few weeks: cold, snowy, warmer and now cold and snowy again!) Even one or two bad days can slow down sales and make it look like market activity has dipped. February will probably be similar to January. However, for my part, talking to my buyer clients and to other agents, it seems like there’s a lot of demand out there, and lots of folks impatiently waiting for the spring market to get going so that they can buy something. Some of the sale prices I’ve seen reported in the MLS (well over asking) seem to support that. We’ll have to wait and see what happens over the next few weeks and months, but I think we’re in for a busier year and higher prices in the Toronto market.