Tight Market Drives Double-Digit Price Growth

TORONTO, April 4, 2012

Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 9,690 sales through the TorontoMLS system in March 2012. This result was up by almost eight per cent in comparison to the 8,986 deals reported during the same period in 2011.

"The GTA resale market has not suffered from a lack of willing buyers this year. Buyers have been spurred on by the positive affordability picture brought about by low mortgage rates," said Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver. "The challenge has been a lack of inventory. Many listings have attracted multiple interested buyers. Strong competition has led to annual rates of price growth well above the long-term average."

The average selling price in the GTA was $501,614 in March – up by 10 per cent in comparison to March 2011.

"The number of new listings was up last month in comparison to March 2011. However, based on the historic relationship between price and listings, the GTA resale market should be better supplied. If competition between buyers remains as strong as it is right now, we will almost certainly see an average selling price above $500,000 for 2012 as a whole," said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.