May traditionally marks the busiest month for real estate in Toronto… this year – not so much. Self-isolation,  social distancing, and the overall uncertainty of the future reduced much of the activity we typically see in May. However, activity did start to pick up towards the end of the month!

April marked the first month of full lockdown, and really set the benchmark for comparison purposes. It’s important to distinguish market activity with pre and post COVID-19 numbers to get an accurate pulse of where the market is heading.

In May – sales, listings, active listings and prices posted much higher numbers than in April. Sales and new listings doubled (over 50%), month over month, and the average price increased to $863,000 (an increase of more than 5%). Speaking from my own experience, I also witnessed a huge uptick in emails, calls and showings on my listings. 

Because context is important, now more than ever, it has to be said that May typically records the highest numbers of the year… but not so in 2020. 

On a year-over-year (YOY) basis: sales were down by over 75% and new listings by 54%. We also saw a 68% increase in days properties sat on the market – a clear indication of a much cooler May. Prices did see a small gain of nearly 3% compared to May 2019, but still much less than the double-digit appreciation we saw in Q1 (January, February and March) of this year!

Detatched Houses

• 432 sales took place during the month of May
• 119 more homes than the previous month (38% increase in sales)
• 748 fewer homes than the previous year (63% decline in sales)
• The average price of a detached home was $1,422,273
• Up $172,543 compared to the previous month (13% increase in price)
• Up $37,280 compared to the previous year (2.7% increase in price)

Semi Detached Houses

• 164 sales took place during the month of May
• 38 more homes than the previous month (30% increase in sales)
• 244 fewer homes than the previous year (59% decline in sales)
• The average price of a Semi-Detached home was $1,143,322
• Up $46,000 compared to the previous month (4% increase in price)
• Up $92,790 compared to the previous year (8% increase)

Town Houses

• 164 sales took place during the month of May
• 56 more homes than the previous month (51% increase in sales)
• 202 fewer homes than the previous year (55% decline in sales)
• The average price of a Town House was $794,626
• Up $9,727 compared to the previous month (1% increase in price)
• Down $1,463 compared to the previous year (0.18% decrease in price)

Condos

• 727 sales took place during the month of May
• 245 more sales than the previous month (50% increase in sales)
• 1,102 fewer condos than the previous year (58% decline in sales)
• The average price of a Condo was $674,028
• Up $61,728 compared to the previous month (10% increase in price)
• Up $31,137 compared to the previous year (4% increase in price)

TRENDS TO WATCH

1. In April, the Government put a ban on short-term rental services (think AirBnB). As a result, we saw a lot more rental units come to market in the condo sector.  With an oversupply of available units, we saw rent prices come down significantly. The government has lifted its short-term restriction, so we’ll see the impact this may have on the supply of condo rentals.
2. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is in the process of announcing stricter lending criteria for anyone purchasing with less than 20% down. This could create a mini push for buyers into the market before the new rules take effect.
3. Bidding wars are back. I’ve seen several houses sell way over asking (and market value) in the last few weeks. Much of this can probably be attributed to the pent up demand from months prior – curious to see if this continues into the traditionally quieter summer months!