November 2019 Market Review

The Toronto real estate market had a pretty hot November. Sales volume was up 14.2% over November 2018, at 7,090 units, over 6,206 last November. A fairly sharp decline in both new listings (8,650, down 17.9%) and total active listings (11,958, down 27.2%) put pressure on prices, driving up the average sale price by 7.1%, to $843,637.

All housing types experienced at least a small increase in average price:

Detached +4.9%

Semi-detached +0.3%

Row/townhouse +3.2%

Condo +10.9%

Condos once again lead the way! 😉

There could be a few reasons for the increase in activity, but it likely boils down to buyers having adjusted to the so-called ‘demand side’ policies of recent years, primarily the ‘stress-test’ that obliges new buyers to meet stricter mortgage requirements. Maybe they’ve saved a bit more over the past year or so, and more of them are ready to jump in, or they’ve switched their attention to condos (as I have suggested before), or looked to different neighbourhoods, having been ‘priced out’ of their top choices…. Whatever it is, it should come as no surprise that the market has adapted to the changing conditions – after all, that’s what markets do!

December is usually a very slow month in real estate, but coming off a busy November we may see continued activity and price increases. But, eventually, the market will quiet down for the holidays/New Year. Then, we should probably get ready for a busy 2020! 😉