UnionCity in Markham.The average house price this year may exceed C $1 million. The Toronto Real Estate Bureau released its year-end report on real estate for 2020 and its market outlook for 2021 on Monday.Please Visit: UnionCity in Markham to Get Your VVIP Registration Today!
After unprecedented developments last year, the Greater Toronto area (GTA) housing market will continue to see strong and record growth in 2021, with overall average housing prices, including all housing types, breaking the C $1 million mark for the first time.
Last year, the Canadian real estate market, including most regions, experienced an unprecedented year. After a brief “Xiaoyangchun” at the beginning of the month, under the blockade of the province in the spring of last year, there was a historic downturn in market activity. Property sales in most areas fell sharply in the second half of March last year, falling below 3000 units in April and below the 4000 mark in May.
However, this situation lasted only for a short time, as business and consumer confidence recovered and the market rebounded in the second half of the year, showing the resilience of most regional markets. With warmer weather and a slowdown in the epidemic, as well as a sharp drop in borrowing costs, actual home sales exceeded 8000 units in June, an increase of more than 80 percent month-on-month and a year-on-year drop of only 1.4 percent. Since July, real estate transactions have been linked all the way, and the volume of housing transactions has been hovering around 10,000 units until the end of the year.
The Toronto Housing Authority believes that despite strict public health restrictions, many industries are able to operate at relatively high levels, especially those related to average or above-average income, which form the basis for home ownership in the GTA area.
Overall, there were 95151 home sales in most regions in 2020, an increase of 8.4 per cent over the same period last year, while the number of new listings increased by 2.6 per cent. It is this disconnect between sales and newly listed housing that accelerates the growth of average house prices. The average house price in the area rose 13.5% last year to C $930000. Since the outbreak, average housing prices in the region have only dropped slightly month-on-month in September, and have risen in all other months.
Jason Mercer, chief market analyst at the Real Estate Bureau, said: “the 2020 epidemic undoubtedly brought unprecedented challenges to the real estate industry, but it did not have a negative impact on overall demand.” Looking ahead, after widespread vaccination, a strong economy and renewed GTA population growth will support continued demand for home ownership and rental housing. But in the long run, the supply of housing will still be a problem, especially in the field of low-rise housing. ”
With the advent of 2021, the Toronto Real Estate Bureau paints an optimistic picture, and people’s desire to buy a house is still strong.
The report predicts that total home sales in the region this year will be close to the record of 105000 units. At the same time, overall average home prices for all residential types and regions will break through the C $1 million mark for the first time to C $1.025 million, up 10 per cent from a year earlier.
The real estate bureau also predicts that the number of new apartments listed will begin to decline, especially in the second half of this year. Last year, the number of apartments listed in the GTA area fell 4.3 per cent from a year earlier, with downtown Toronto up 15.8 per cent, but apartment sales fell 1.1 per cent.
In terms of low-rise housing, the number of housing on the market is still limited. The total number of new homes on the market is expected to reach 160000 this year, up from 157000 last year, so the market for low-rise homes, including detached homes, will remain tight and sales are expected to grow faster than listings in 2021.
While mortgage postponement was a concern in the early stages of the epidemic, the Canadian Association of Mortgage Professionals does not expect any significant increase in mortgage delinquency in 2021, according to the report. Most homeowners who take advantage of extended mortgages are cautious, not in financial distress, and most of them have resumed their monthly payments.
The real estate bureau predicts that mortgage rates will remain low this year, although medium-and long-term fixed rates are likely to rise slightly in the second half of the year as the economy recovers.
Looking ahead, the Toronto Real Estate Board believes that the key challenge facing the housing market remains supply, and that there is a lack of diversity in housing supply in the area, with urban areas occupied by low-density single-family homes. The agency believes that increasing the supply of different types of housing will address the lack of middle-level housing between low-rise and high-rise housing in these areas, while significantly and quickly alleviating the shortage of housing supply.