Greater Toronto Area Report May 2018, Steve Moran, Remax

    Home sales tumbled 22 per cent last month in the Greater Toronto Area, compared with May, 2017 and new listings of homes for sale declined 26 per cent, both signals that many people are still on the sidelines waiting to see if the region is heading toward stability or more volatility.

           The decline in listings is helping to keep prices stable despite weak sales. Sale prices averaged $805,320 in the GTA in May, down from $862,149 in 2017. Condominium prices are up 5.7 per cent on a year-over-year basis to an average of $562,892, while detached home prices on average are down 8.2 per cent to $1,045,553.

A stress test imposed this year by Canada's banking regulator has reduced the amount that borrowers qualify for and slowed demand for real estate.

The stress test plus a package of measures the Ontario government introduced in April 2017 to cool the market may smooth things out for a while, but at the end of the day, we have a shortage of housing in Toronto, huge pent-up demand to live here and a fixed amount of land. Those forces are not going away.

I expect market conditions to become tighter in the Greater Toronto Area, and this will provide support for home prices as we move through the second half of 2018 and into 2019.

I would be happy to help you with your real estate needs. I can be reached at 416-949-1684 or you can visit me at http://www.stevemoranhomes.com.

Have a great day!