Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 3,603 residential sales through the TorontoMLS system during the first 14 days of July. This result represented a moderate increase of 2.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2012. Over the same time frame, the number of new listings entered into TorontoMLS was down by two per cent.

“The second half of 2013 began with tighter market conditions in the GTA housing market. With sales up and new listings down, it makes sense that the annual rate of price growth accelerated. This was especially the case for single-detached and semi-detached homes in the City of Toronto, which remained in very short supply,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Dianne Usher.

The average selling price for the first 14 days of July was $510,819 – up by 8.1 per cent compared to $472,632 in the first half of July 2012. The strongest year-over-year increases were experienced in the single-detached and semi-detached market segments in the City of Toronto with growth rates of 10.7 and 14.1 per cent respectively. The condominium apartment segment continued to experience moderate average price growth.

“Expect a faster pace of average price growth in the second half of 2013 compared to the first six months of the year. The strong demand and shortage of listings for low-rise home types in some neighbourhoods will continue to be the driver of price growth. An improvement in conditions in the condominium apartment market will also have a positive impact,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 5,853 condominium apartments rented through the TorontoMLS system in the second quarter of 2013. This result was up by approximately 23 per cent in comparison to the second quarter of 2012. The number of condominium apartments listed for rent was up by over 15 per cent to 10,284.

“Condominium apartments rented out by investors have become an increasingly important part of the overall rental stock in the GTA, given that very few purpose-built rental properties have been completed over the last decade,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Dianne Usher.

“Strong demand for condo rentals has come from households who want to live in up-to-date units but who are not ready to buy. These renter households include would-be first-time buyers who are waiting to save a down payment and/or benefit from increased incomes and new comers to Canada who often choose to rent before entering into the home ownership market,” continued Ms. Usher.

Average rents for one-bedroom and two-bedroom condominium apartments increased well-above the rate of inflation on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter, reaching $1,611 per month and $2,174 per month respectively.

“The fact that annual growth in rental transactions outstripped growth in the number of units listed for rent suggests that conditions in the GTA tightened over the past year and that the vacancy rate has remained very low. Strong competition between renters for available units has prompted continued upward pressure in average rents,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 5,984 condominium apartment transactions through the TorontoMLS system in the second quarter of 2013. This result was down by approximately six per cent in comparison to the second quarter of 2012. The number of active listings at the end of the second quarter was up year-over-year by less than 2.5 per cent, while new listings were down by slightly more than four per cent.

“The GTA condominium apartment market has been the subject of much discussion recently, due in large part to the number of new units completed over the past two years and the number of units that remain under construction. With this in mind, it is important to point out that the condo market has fared quite well. Even with sales down and the number of active listings up, the average selling price has found support at current levels,” said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Dianne Usher.

The average selling price for condominium apartments in the second quarter was $347,896 – up by 1.7 per cent compared to the average of $342,148 in the second quarter of 2012. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) apartment benchmark price was also up by approximately one per cent over the same period.

“While active listings were up year-over-year in the second quarter, it is interesting to note that new listings were down over the same period. If the number of new listings continues to drop in the second half of 2013 and the sales situation improves, we could see the pace of condo price growth accelerate as market conditions tighten,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

Toronto Real Estate Board Commercial Division Members reported over 5.1 million square feet of industrial, commercial/retail and office space leased through the TorontoMLS system in the second quarter of 2013. This result, which was down by seven per cent on a year-over-year basis, included approximately 3.9 million square feet of industrial space, accounting for slightly more than three-quarters of total leasing activity in the quarter.

Changes in average lease rates reported for transactions undertaken on a per square foot net basis, and for which pricing was disclosed, were mixed. The average industrial lease rate was down slightly on a year-over-year basis, whereas average lease rates for commercial/retail and office space were up over the same period.

“The industrial leasing market in the Greater Toronto Area, which accounts for the majority of leasing transactions on TorontoMLS, is driven by the export sector of the economy and, in particular, by the production of goods and services destined for the United States,” said TREB Commercial Division Chair Cynthia Lai. “We did see a welcome uptick in exports in the first quarter of 2013 and the consensus expectation is that exports will continue to climb back and eventually above the pre-recession peak. This will obviously bode well for investment in industrial real estate moving forward.”

“The commercial/retail and office markets performed well, with growth in the amount of leased space in the second quarter. This increased demand appears to have translated into tighter market conditions and growth in average lease rates,” continued Ms. Lai.

The total number of sales for industrial, commercial/retail and office properties through the TorontoMLS system in the second quarter was up by 10 per cent year-over-year to 352. Over the same period, average selling prices per square foot, for transactions where pricing was disclosed, were down for industrial and office properties and up for commercial/retail properties.

“Given that growth in business investment is expected to continue this year and next, it is reasonable to assume that purchases of industrial, commercial/retail and office properties will also increase, as businesses look to increase space and investors seek to take advantage of quality returns,” added Ms. Lai.

Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 4,620 sales through the TorontoMLS system during the first two weeks of June 2013. This result was up by 4.7 per cent compared to the first two weeks of June 2012. Year-over-year sales growth was driven by the regions/counties surrounding the City of Toronto. Home sales in the City were basically flat in comparison to last year.

“The expectation was for an improvement in home sales in the second half of 2013. Early June results are in line with this outlook. Many households have adapted to stricter lending guidelines and have renewed their search for ownership housing,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah.

“It is also important to note that new listings were down over the same period. With sales up and new listings down, market conditions became tighter. This supports the moderate to strong rates of price growth reported for most major home types, including condominium apartments,” added Ms. Hannah.

The average selling price for the first fourteen days of June was $536,141 – up by 3.8 per cent compared to June 2012.

“While price growth has been driven by low-rise home types this year, condominium apartment price growth has improved since March. Despite higher inventory levels, there have been enough buyers relative to available listings to support condo price appreciation,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

With the City of Toronto’s Executive Committee expected to review a City staff report on options for phasing out the Toronto Land Transfer Tax in coming weeks, a new poll is showing strong public support for eliminating this tax.

“The public continues to feel strongly that the Land Transfer Tax should be scrapped. Torontonians know that the land transfer tax is bad for our City, and they want City Council to follow through on commitments to phase it out,” said Ann Hannah, President of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).

The poll was conducted by Ipsos Reid, between May 10, 2013 and May 22, 2013, and found that,

• Two-thirds (65%) of Torontonians support plans to eliminate the Toronto Land Transfer Tax;
• Support for eliminating the land transfer tax with a gradual phase-out approach, as suggested by Mayor Ford, is strong (65%);
• 90% of recent home buyers feel that they received little or no added value in municipal services for the Land Transfer Tax that they paid to the City;
• 74% of home buyers in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area say they are more likely to purchase a home outside of Toronto specifically because of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax;
• 65% of home buyers who currently live in Toronto say they are more likely to leave Toronto, when they purchase their next home, specifically because of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax;

“The Land Transfer Tax has hurt Toronto for long enough. We have been speaking out against this tax for some time and we will keep doing so until City Council takes action. We’re proud of our efforts to stand up for the public and inform them on this issue, and we will keep doing so. The public expects action on this unfair tax before the next municipal election,” said Von Palmer, Chief Government and Public Affairs Officer for TREB.

A study published last fall, by the C.D. Howe Institute, found that the Toronto Land Transfer Tax is directly responsible for dampening home sales in Toronto by 16 percent. This equates to over 5,000 lost housing sales, including condominiums. A separate study, conducted by the Altus Group, determined that every resale housing transaction results in over $40,000 in spinoff spending on things like movers, renovations, furniture, and appliances.

“Home ownership is a worthy goal and City Council should not be making it more difficult to achieve. City Council can, and should, move forward with a responsible phase-out of the Land Transfer Tax,” added Palmer.

For this survey, a sample of 1,012 adults from Ipsos’ Canadian online panel was interviewed online, of which 606 live in Toronto proper and 406 live in the surrounding 905 region. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls are measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/-3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in the GTA been polled, +/- 4.6 percentage points of all Torontonians, and +/- 5.5 percentage points of all those living in the surrounding areas of the GTA. With regard to prospective homebuyers in the GTA region, the poll is accurate to within +/- 9.3 percentage points of all prospective homebuyers in Toronto proper, and +/- 10.7 percentage points of all prospective homebuyers in the surrounding GTA.

Greater Toronto Area (GTA) REALTORS® reported 10,182 sales through the TorontoMLS system in May 2013, representing a dip of 3.4 per cent compared to May 2012. Sales of single-detached homes in the GTA were up by almost one per cent compared to the same period last year, including a three per cent year-over-year increase in the City of Toronto.

“The sales picture in the GTA has improved markedly over the past two months. While the number of transactions in April and May remained below last year’s levels, the rate of decline has been much smaller. A growing number of households who put their decision to purchase on hold as a result of stricter lending guidelines are starting to become active again in the ownership market,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah.

The average selling price for May 2013 sales was $542,174 – up by 5.4 per cent in comparison to $514,567 in May 2012. The annual rate of price growth was driven by the tight low-rise segment of the market and particularly by single-detached and semi-detached home transactions in the City of Toronto. Average condominium apartment prices were also up slightly in comparison to last year.

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 2.8 per cent year-over-year.

“The annual rate of price growth in May was not surprising given the competition that still exists between buyers, particularly for low-rise home types such as single-detached and semi-detached houses. We remain on track for a three-and-a-half per cent increase in the average selling price for 2013 as a whole,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 4,476 transactions through the TorontoMLS system during the first 14 days of May. This result represented a decline of 9.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2012. Sales declines were larger for the City of Toronto, at 11.4 per cent, versus the surrounding regions where sales were down by 8.6 per cent year-over-year.

“Despite fewer sales this year compared to last, competition between buyers in most segments of the market remained strong enough to promote annual rates of price growth above the rate of inflation. A household earning the average income in the GTA can comfortably afford the mortgage payments associated with the purchase of an average priced home,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah.

The average selling price during the first two weeks of May was $543,838 – up by 5.4 per cent in comparison to the same time frame last year. Price growth was strongest for low-rise home types, but positive price growth for condo apartments in the City of Toronto was also reported.

“Continuing the prevailing trend over the last year, the low-rise segment of the market drove overall price growth during the first half of May, as months of inventory remained below historic norms for key home types,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) Commercial Division Members reported 628,624 square feet of leased space in April 2013 – a 7.3 per cent year-over-year decline in comparison to 678,004 square feet leased in April 2012.

Industrial properties accounted for approximately three-quarters of all square footage leased in April. Industrial transactions represented 466,494 square feet – down by almost 24 per cent compared to the same period last year. The decline in leased industrial space was partially offset by increases in commercial/retail and office leasing activity.

“While the amount of leased space was down on a year-over-year basis in April, it was encouraging to see average lease rates up for all major property types. This suggests that demand was quite strong relative to the amount of space available for lease last month,” said TREB Commercial Division Chair, Cynthia Lai.

The average industrial lease rate for transactions where pricing was disclosed on a per square foot net basis was $4.80 – up by 4.3 per cent compared to an average lease rate of $4.60 in April 2012. Commercial/Retail and Office per square foot net lease rates were also up on average, but these larger increases were due, at least in part, to changes in the type of properties leased between April 2012 and April 2013.

There were 51 combined industrial, commercial/retail and office properties sold through TorontoMLS in April with pricing disclosed – down by 21.5 per cent compared to the same month in 2012. The decline in sales was driven by the commercial/retail and office segments of the market. Partially offsetting these declines was a small increase in the number of industrial sales.

Average disclosed selling prices per square foot were up for all major property categories. However, the large price increases reported point to a different mix of properties sold in April this year compared to last.

“We have seen the number and size of commercial leasing and sale transactions in the Greater Toronto Area hold up quite well in the face of continued economic uncertainty. While below average economic growth is forecast for the remainder of the first half of 2013, the Canadian economy is expected to expand at a brisker pace in the second half of this year. Look for commercial transactions to follow a similar trend,” added Ms. Lai.

Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 9,811 sales through the TorontoMLS system in April 2013, representing a dip of two per cent in comparison to 10,021 transactions in April 2012. Both new listings during the month and active listings at the end of April were up on a year-over-year basis.

“Despite the headwinds we have experienced in the housing market this year, April sales came in quite strong in comparison to last year. As we move through the spring and into the second half of 2013, the demand for home ownership should continue to firm-up relative to last year,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah.

“It has been almost a year since the federal government enacted stricter mortgage lending guidelines. It is realistic to surmise that some households, who originally put their decision to purchase on hold, are once again looking to buy,” continued Ms. Hannah.

The average selling price for April 2013 transactions was $526,335 – up by two per cent in comparison to April 2012. The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark Price was up by 2.9 per cent.

“The condominium apartment segment in the City of Toronto was a key driver of price growth in April, with both the average selling price and the MLS HPI apartment index up on a year-over-year basis. The improved condo sales picture, with Toronto sales down by only one per cent compared to last year, suggests that interest in condo ownership may be improving,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.