Behind the numbers , A deeper look into the 2018 GTA housing market

The story of the GTA real estate market in 2018 was one of moderation, with improvement of market conditions in the second half of the year.Sales, listings and average selling price were all down compared to 2017: there were 77,426 transactions (down 16.1 per cent), 155,823 new listings (down 12.7 per cent), and an overall average selling price of $787,300 (down 4.3 per cent).In the first half of the year, it’s likely that many would-be buyers chose to delay purchasing a home due to higher borrowing costs and the new mortgage stress test, which could have contributed to the double digit decline in the number of transactions.On the flip side, a decline in listings, contributed to increased competition between buyers looking to find a home that meets their needs. In turn, this fuelled a resumption of moderate year-over-year price growth in the second half of 2018.It’s also true that certain segments of the market performed better than others from a pricing perspective. For instance, home prices were up slightly in the city of Toronto where a large proportion of sales were of condos. The condo market was the tightest market segment last year, with substantial competition between buyers who were searching for relatively affordable ownership housing options.It is important to remember that TREB’s market area is made up of over 500 communities and market conditions obviously unfold differently across these communities. This is why it’s important to work with a professional TREB member realtor who is familiar with local market conditions in your areas of interest.For information on the GTA real estate market in 2018 and in December, check out the infograph accompanying this articleGARRY BHAURA is president of the Toronto Real Estate Board, a professional association that represents 48,000 professional realtor members in the Greater Toronto Area. You can contact him At TREBpres@trebnet.com. For updates on the real estate market, visit TREBhome.com. If commercial property is what interests you, contact a TREB realtor by visiting TREBcommercial.com.