As we moved from 2022 into 2023, the Greater Toronto Area housing market unfolded as expected. The number of January sales and the overall average selling price were similar to December.

The average selling price of a home fell to 1.04 million in January, down 16.4% from a year ago.

Since the Bank of Canada launched its plan to slow inflation by reducing access to cheap loans, the city’s housing market has cooled significantly. While short-term borrowing costs increased again in January, negotiated medium-term mortgage rates, like the five-year fixed rate, have actually started to trend lower compared to the end of last year.

Looking forward, 2023 will likely be a year of two halves with the first half of the year looking like the end of 2022 with mostly flat prices and then picking up as the year goes on.