Toronto real estate trending back to pre-covid market after normal summer slowdown

Toronto’s real estate market in August 2021 continued the trend we saw last month, where while we may appear to be down compared to this time last year, comparing against August 2019 shows that we’re back to more or less normal statistics across the board. It has been a wild ride in real estate due to COVID and it appears we’re slowly back to the normal Toronto market, where low inventory (supply) means prices move steadily upwards.

What happened?

  • The number of sales dropped for the 5th month in a row, and our 8,596 sales in August was about 20% lower than we saw last August (2020).

  • Our average sale price of $1,070,911 is close to 13% higher compared to last August.

  • The number of new listings also dropped for the fifth month in a row from the peak reported in March, with about 10,609 new listings entered into the system last month.

  • The condo market showed only slight differences from the market as a whole, with a slight increase in sales (2,544 in August) and a 9.4% increase in average price (now at $688,568).

“There is no doubt that the condominium apartment segment has improved markedly over the past six months, after lagging the low-rise market segments in the second half of 2020. Consumer polling conducted by Ipsos for TRREB suggested that about 40% of buyers in 2021 would be first-time buyers. For many first-time buyers, their entry point into homeownership is the condo market so we expect further upward movement this year with accelerated migration back to cities and heightened immigration.” - TRREB President Kevin Crigger

How did it feel?

  • The market continued to slow down a bit compared to the norm for 2021, with the average days on market going up for the fourth month in a row, now at 16 days on average.

  • It wasn’t exactly slow-paced, but it felt a bit more relaxed to buy and sell in Toronto than it has been since the start of the year.

  • The average sale to list price ratio is currently at 105%, indicating properties are still selling in multiple offer scenarios and for more than their asking price.

  • All in all, it felt a bit more relaxed than previous months if you were buying and selling in Toronto, but if this is your first time in the market in a few years, it likely felt pretty fast-paced.


What’s going to happen?

  • The predictive stats are clear in showing a strong likelihood of price increases in Toronto in September, both in the market as a whole and also for the condo segment.

  • The sales to new listing ratio for the market as a whole rose again, now at 69% (which is firmly a seller’s market), the number of active listings dropped down to about 8,200 (which typically puts pressure on prices upward), and the months of inventory is currently sitting at a low 1.1 months (a lower level of months' supply tends to push prices up more rapidly).

  • The condo market saw a similar story, which rising sales to new listing ratio, fewer active listings, and a dropping months of inventory, means condo prices are likely to rise.

At a glance: August 2021 Toronto + GTA real estate statistics

If you have any questions or would like more information on recent home sales in your neighbourhood, don't hesitate to get in touch.

Suzanne Lewis
Sales Representative
416.856.1937
suzanne@suzannelewis.ca

Suzanne Lewis