MAY 10 2022
Housing data from April showed home sales were down in most major metro markets in the country, with Toronto sales leading the way, down over 41% year-over-year.
Average prices, meanwhile, were down on a monthly basis in the Greater Toronto Area, but continued to rise in most other urban markets outside of Ontario.
The GTA saw the largest retreat in prices, which were down 3.5% from March, but still up 15% year-over-year. Ottawa also saw prices dip 2.7% from March, but were up 13% from a year ago.
Elsewhere, Vancouver prices were still up 1% month-over-month, while Calgary saw a 1.6% increase and Montreal experienced a 2.5% rise in single-detached home prices.
While February is so far looking like a peak for national home prices, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association, prices are still up in cities outside of Ontario.
Here’s a look at the percentage change in average headline prices in April compared to February:
- Greater Toronto Area: -6%
- Greater Vancouver Area: +5%
- Montreal Census Metro Area: +5%
- City of Calgary: +5%
- City of Ottawa: -1%
But, as real estate analyst Ben Rabidoux of Edge Realty Analytics points out, some of these figures might be misleading.
“House price indexes do a poor job of picking up sharp inflection points. Prices are already down from the February peak in major markets, but it will take several months before this shows up in HPI data,” he wrote in his latest newsletter.
“Price gains nationally are moderating, and may register declines later this year,” he added. “Market balance is weakening, but with months of inventory still just 1.8, it will take several more months of deteriorating trends before headline prices officially print negative.”
Here’s a look at the April statistics from some of the country’s largest regional real estate boards:
Greater Toronto Area
Sales: 8,008
- -41.2% (YoY)
- -27% month-over-month (MoM)
MLS Home Price Index: $1,254,436
- +15% (YoY)
- -3.5% (MoM)
New Listings: 18,413
- -11.7% (YoY)
- -8.1% (MoM)
“Despite slower sales, market conditions remained tight enough to support higher selling prices compared to last year. However, in line with TRREB’s forecast, there is evidence of buyers responding to increased choice in the marketplace, with the average and benchmark prices dipping month-over-month. It is anticipated that there will be enough competition between buyers to support continued price growth relative to 2021, but the annual pace of growth will moderate in the coming months,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB)
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