How GTA Home Sales Have Shifted Month-Over-Month and Year-Over-Year

The real estate sector usually expects high sales in May, which is often the month that closes most sales in any given year. But, now the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) has released its latest market stats, we can see that hasn’t been the case in 2021.

That’s not to say sales have been low, though. Far from it. Residential transactions have actually been high throughout May, though the total number has fallen short of the 2016 record. Meanwhile, March 2021’s peak remains unbeaten for this year’s sales.

Nonetheless, market conditions have been tight enough to push the average selling price to a new record.

Here’s our monthly breakdown of the stats.

GTA Home Sales: TRREB’s May 2021 Statistics

Below, you’ll find the main conclusions from TRREB’s May 2021 Market Watch report.

• GTA realtors reported 11,951 sales, which is more than double the number of sales closed last May. However, at this point, we were in the second full month of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, sales were naturally very low.
• Though sales have bounced back this May, monthly sales still fall below the May 2016 record of 12,789.
• However, May 2021 sales were higher than the average number of May sales between 2010 and 2019 (10,336). 
• May is often the strongest sales month, though this isn’t the case this year, as sales hit 15,646 in March 2021.
• The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark has climbed by nearly 19% since May 2020.
• The average selling price across all property types has risen by 28.4% year-over-year, reaching a new record of $1,108,453. On a seasonally adjusted basis, this average price has risen by 1.1% since April 2021.

“There has been strong demand for ownership housing in all parts of the GTA for both ground-oriented home types and condominium apartments,” says TRREB President Lisa Patel. “This was fuelled by confidence in economic recovery and low borrowing costs. However, in the absence of a normal pace of population growth, we saw a pullback in sales over the past two months relative to the March peak.” 

“While sales have trended off the March 2021 peak, so too have new listings,” adds TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer. “This means that people actively looking to purchase a home continue to face a lot of competition from other buyers, which results in very strong upward pressure on selling prices. This competition is becoming more widespread with tighter market conditions in the condominium apartment segment as well.” 

May’s Region-Specific Sales

In May alone, realtors closed:

• 1,197 home sales in the Halton Region.
• 2,379 in the Peel Region.
• 2,192 in the York Region. 
• 1,574 in the Durham Region.
• 4,118 in the City of Toronto
• 70 in Dufferin County.
• 421 in Simcoe County.

And in Toronto alone, realtors closed 1,072 GTA home sales in Toronto West, 1,933 in Toronto Central, and 1,113 in Toronto East. 

We’ve also taken a look at how GTA detached home sales have changed between April 2021 and May 2021 in Storey Collective’s communities. 

Toronto

• Home sales were down 5.1%. 
• New listings dropped by 7%. 
• Average sale price was up by just 1%, remaining relatively flat. 
• The sales to new listings ratio (SNLR) rose by 1.2% to 59%. A SNLR of 55%+ indicates a seller’s market, which means there are more buyers than properties for sale. 

Halton Hills

• Home sales dropped by 27%. 
• New listings dropped by 25.3%. 
• Average sale price was down 1.6%. 
• The sales to new listings ratio (SNLR) dropped by 1.6% to 73%, still resulting in a seller’s market. 

Oakville

• Home sales fell by 16.8%. 
• New listings dropped by 20.3%. 
• Average sale price was down 2.2%. 
• The sales to new listings ratio (SNLR) rose by 3% to 70.6%, resulting in a seller’s market. 

Milton

• Home sales were down 14.6%. 
• New listings dropped by 22.3%. 
• Average sale price dropped by 0.7%, remaining relatively flat. 
• The sales to new listings ratio (SNLR) grew by 6.3% to 70.3%, resulting in a seller’s market. 

Burlington

• Home sales were down 14.4%. 
• New listings dropped by 10.3%. 
• Average sale price rose by 0.8%, remaining relatively flat. 
• The sales to new listings ratio (SNLR) fell by 3.6% to 76.6%, still resulting in a seller’s market. 

Mississauga

• Home sales fell by 11.8%. 
• New listings were down 13.2%. 
• Average sale price rose by 2.2%. 
• The sales to new listings ratio (SNLR) rose by 1.1% to 67%, resulting in a seller’s market. 

You can also take a look at our community pages for Toronto, Georgetown (Halton Hills), Oakville, Milton, Burlington, and Mississauga. You’ll find our year-over-year and month-over-month market summaries on these pages.

How Storey Collective Can Help

We examine GTA home sales each month to advise buyers and sellers on how best to secure and sell properties in the Greater Toronto Area. 

If you’d like advice on how to make the most of the housing market during a particular season, get in touch with Storey Collective for a free phone consultation.

In the meantime, you’ll find some useful tips in our recent blog posts on how rent-to-own homes work in the GTA, how to prepare for a quicker sale with home staging techniques, and how to determine optimal list price.