Residential sales up 4.9% in January 2016 compared to a year earlier.

Ontario home sales remain very strong in January

Highlights

·         Residential sales up 4.9% in January 2016 compared to a year earlier. ·         New listings in Ontario numbered 21,405 units in January 2016, a decline of 10.6% compared to last year. ·         The provincial average price of homes in January 2016 rises 11% compared to a year earlier. ·         There were 4 months of inventory at the end of January 2016.

Unit Sales Residential sales activity reported through the MLS® Systems of real estate Boards and Associations in Ontario numbered 10,323 units in January 2016, up 4.9% from a year earlier. Newly Listed Units New listings on the MLS® Systems of real estate boards in Ontario numbered 21,405 units in January 2016, a decline of 10.6% from a year earlier. Average House Price The provincial average price for homes sold in January 2016 was $466,053, rising 11% from a year earlier. Months of Inventory There were 4 months of inventory at the end of January 2016, down from 5 months from the same time one year ago. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity. Sales to New Listings Ratio The Ontario sales-to-new listings ratio was 65.2% in January 2016. A sales-to-new listings ratio between 40 and 60 percent is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, with readings below and above this range indicating buyers’ and sellers’ markets respectively. View detailed report

Strong Start to 2016

February 3, 2016 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 4,672 residential transactions through TREB's MLS® System in January 2016. This result represented an 8.2 per cent increase compared to January 2015.

"It is clear that the handoff from 2015 to 2016 was a strong one. This is not surprising given that recent polling conducted for TREB by Ipsos suggested 12 per cent of GTA households were seriously considering the purchase of a home in 2016. Buying intentions are strong for this year as households continue to see home ownership as an affordable long-term investment," said McLean.

The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark Price for January 2016 was up by 10.7 per cent on a year-over-year basis. The average selling price over the same period was up by 14.1 per cent.

The difference in the annual growth rates for the MLS® HPI and average price was largely due to a greater share of high-end detached homes sold in the regions surrounding the City of Toronto this year compared to last. The MLS® HPI removes the impact of shifts in the share of different property types sold from one year to the next.

"Market conditions in January were tighter compared to a year earlier, with an annual increase in sales up against a decline in listings. This is why growth in the MLS® HPI benchmarks continued to be strong, especially for singles, semis and townhouses, where there has been a persistent lack of inventory," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.

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