News Release : Home Ownership in Greater Toronto Remains Affordable

Home ownership in the Greater Toronto Area remains affordable and there are many people looking to purchase a home. In January, the number of homes listed for sale was down quite strongly compared to last year, which means that it was difficult for some buyers to find a home. Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 4,135 sales through the TorontoMLS system in January 2014. This result was down by 2.2 per cent in comparison to January 2013.

New listings entered into the system were down over the same period by 16.6 per cent to 8,822. "Looking forward, it is possible that strong price growth, and therefore an increase in home equity, will act as a trigger for more households to list their homes for sale. This is especially the case for households whose life styles are changing, including those with an expanding family looking for a larger home or empty nesters looking to downsize," said Dianne Usher, President, Toronto Real Estate Board.

The average selling price for January 2014 sales was $526,528 - up by more than nine per cent compared to $482,080 in January 2013. "The pace of price growth will remain strong in 2014. Similar to last year, competition between buyers for singles, semis and town homes in the City of Toronto and surrounding regions will continue to exert upward pressure on selling prices. At the same time, mortgage rates will remain near historic lows, so despite strong price growth, home ownership will remain affordable for the average household in the GTA," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis.