In April, the GTA witnessed an increase in new listings, seeing 18,088 properties available for sale. Notably, this is the highest April inventory in the city since 2018. More properties for sale is welcome news for buyers who have been grappling with inventory scarcity in the preceding years.

More listings resulted in an 8% increase in sales last month compared to March. This represents the highest level of sales activity we have seen this year, and the highest number of sales since June of 2023. Against this backdrop, the average sales price for the month reached $1,156,167, a modest uptick of a quarter of a percent compared to the preceding year.

Looking at individual market segments, the detached market saw an uptick in price, with the average price increasing by 3.3% on a monthly basis to $1,516,070. Detached inventory soared by 68% on a monthly basis, resulting in 7,619 actively listed homes throughout the GTA. Sales figures were bolstered by a 9.7% monthly increase, with 3,175 detached homes securing buyers during the month.

Condo sales also experienced a notable price increase of 9.2% on a monthly basis, resulting in 2,013 sales. This led to an average sales price of $728,067, marking a 4% increase from the previous month. Mirroring the rise in sales, condo inventory rose by 77.8% month over month, with 7,015 condominiums listed for sale across the GTA, marking the highest level since October 2020.

Townhome inventory emerged as the standout performer of the month, doubling the number of active listings compared to the previous month. With 1,235 townhomes for sale and 655 sales recorded throughout the month, the segment achieved an average sales price of $1,044,986. Notably, townhomes stood out as the only market segment to surpass the 100% threshold of listing price versus selling price, with properties on average fetching 105% of the listed price during April.

As highlighted in the recent release by Royal LePage, Toronto is set to steal Vancouver’s title as Canada’s most expensive housing market by the end of the year. “At the end of 2023, we forecast modest price gains in the first half of this year and stronger appreciation in the third quarter, following one or more expected rate cuts. What we’ve seen so far is a boost in sales volumes and prices even greater than predicted,” Karen Yolevski, Chief Operating Officer of Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd, said of the Toronto market. “Consistent with our previous forecast, the market did reach a critical tipping point in the first quarter of 2024, when home prices bottomed out and began to appreciate again,” said Phil Soper, President of Royal LePage.

The notion that GTA home values are expected to continue to rise through 2024 and beyond is echoed by TRREB. “Generally speaking, buyers are benefitting from ample choice in the GTA resale market in April. As a result, there was little movement in selling prices compared to last year. Looking forward, the expectation is that lower borrowing costs will prompt tighter market conditions in the months to come, which will result in renewed price growth, especially as we move into 2025,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.

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