The numbers for February continued to show a hot market.
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The Market Now
Toronto’s housing market remained hot in February.
While on the ground, there may be some signs of cooling (which I'll be writing about later this week), on aggregate, the market showed the continued strength we’ve seen recently.
The average price for a house in February was $1,679,429, up 31% over last year; the median house price in February was $1,485,000, up 32% over last year.
House sales were down 20% on a year-over-year basis (as compared to February of last year in 2021), but well above pre-Covid 19 pandemic levels for February in 2019 and 2020.
New listings in February were down 12% over last year while the number of active houses for sale at the end of February fell to just 2,427, a 16% decline over last year.
The average price for a condominium (condo) in February reached $836,969, up 26% over last year; the median price for a condo in February was $772,793, up 26% over last year.
Condo sales were down 10% in February over last year, but well above the pre-Covid 19 levels for the same month in 2019 and 2020.
New condo listings were down by 9% in February over last year, but 46% higher than the new listing volume in 2020. The number of condos available for sale at the end of the month, or active listings, was down 22% over last year.
Here is a detailed look at all numbers.
Monthly Statistics
House Statistics
House sales (detached, semi-detached, townhouse, etc.) in the Toronto area in February 2022 were down 20% over the same month last year, but above levels for the same month in pre-Covid 2019 and 2020.
New listings in February were down 12% over last year, and well above the volumes seen in 2019 and 2020.
The number of houses available for sale (“active listings”) was down 16% when compared to the same month last year and 27% below the inventory levels seen in 2020.
The Months of Inventory ratio (MOI) looks at the number of homes available for sale in a given month divided by the number of homes that sold in that month. It answers the following question: If no more homes came on the market for sale, how long would it take for all the existing homes on the market to sell given the current level of demand?
The higher the MOI, the cooler the market is. A balanced market (a market where prices are neither rising nor falling) is one where MOI is between four to six months. The lower the MOI, the more rapidly we would expect prices to rise.
While the current level of MOI gives us clues into how competitive the market is on-the-ground today, the direction it is moving in also gives us some clues into where the market may be heading.
The MOI has been below a very competitive 1 MOI since last year, but has increased slightly over the past two months.
The share of houses selling for more than the owner’s asking price climbed to an unbelievable 88% in February.
The average price for a house has climbed to $1.679M in February 2022, a 31% increase over last year.
The median house price in February was $1,485,000, up 32% over last year when the median house price was $1,125,000.
The median is calculated by ordering all the sale prices in a given month and then selecting the price that is in the midpoint of that list such that half of all home sales were above that price and half are below that price. Economists often prefer the median price over the average because it is less sensitive to big increases in the sale of high-end or low-end homes in a given month which can skew the average price.
Condo Statistics
Condo (condominiums, including condo apartments, condo townhouses, etc.) sales in the Toronto area in February 2022 were down 10% over last year and up 38% compared to pre-Covid 2020.
New condo listings were down by 9% in February over last year and 46% higher than pre-COVID 2020.
The number of condos available for sale at the end of the month, or active listings, was down 22% over last year.
The strong demand helped keep the MOI below 1 MOI for the month of February.
The competition for condos picked up significantly with the share of condos selling for over the asking price rising to 83% in February.
Average condo prices in February reached $836,969, up 26% over last year. The median price for a condo in February was $772,793 up 26% over last year.
Regional Trends
Houses
Sales across all five regions in the GTA were down in February while average prices were up on a year-over-year basis. The decline in new listings helped keep the market competitive with MOI below 1 across the entire GTA, indicating a strong seller’s market.
Condos
Condo sales were up in Durham and Peel, but down across the rest of the GTA in February. Average prices were up double digits in all five regions. Current MOI levels are below 1 across the GTA signalling a strong seller’s market.
Browse All Real-Time Regional Market Trends on Movesmartly.com:
Greater Toronto Area Market Trends
All Market Performance by Neighbourhood Map, Toronto and the GTA
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