It’s that time of year again; Toronto’s real estate market, fattened up by a robust Fall, slowly slips into hibernation mode. Between holiday celebrations, vacations, and bitterly cold weather, buyers traditionally put off their home searches until the signs of Spring motivate them to start pounding the pavement again.

So, what happened during this gloomy November? Predicatably, real estate sales decreased; the number of residential transactions reported this past month was 6,251, down by 14.7 per cent compared to compared to the same month last year. (However, it should be noted that last November saw a temporary upward shift in demand as the market was distorted by the looming stress test that took effect in January 2018.)

Here’s the Toronto Real Estate Board’s analysis for November 2018:

December 5, 2018 — Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura announced the continuation of moderate price growth in November 2018 compared to November 2017. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 2.7 per cent year-over-year. The average selling price was up by 3.5 per cent year-over-year to $788,345.

Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 6,251 residential transactions through TREB’s MLS® System in November 2018. This result was down by 14.7 per cent compared to November 2017, when we saw a temporary upward shift in demand as the market was distorted by the looming OSFI-mandated stress test at the end of last year.

“New listings were actually down more than sales on a year-over-year basis in November. This suggests that, in many neighbourhoods, competition between buyers may have increased. Relatively tight market conditions over the past few months have provided the foundation for renewed price growth,” said Mr. Bhaura.

On a preliminary seasonally adjusted basis, sales were down by 3.4 per cent compared to October 2018. The average selling price after preliminary seasonal adjustment was down by 0.8 per cent compared to October 2018.

“Home types with lower average price points have been associated with stronger rates of price growth over the past few months. Given the impact of the OSFI-mandated mortgage stress test and higher borrowing costs on affordability, it makes sense that the condo apartment and semi-detached market segments experienced relatively stronger rates of price growth in November, as market conditions in these segments remained tight or tightened respectively over the past year,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.

If you’d like to see more in depth figures – by housing type and/or geographical area – here’s the complete set of November 2018 TREB Stats!

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Steven Fudge, Sales Representative
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