GTA Market Activity – January 2023
The average selling price in the GTA for January 2023 at $1,038,668, slightly lower than December 2022 averages, while benchmark prices remain steady month-over-month, a trend which has continued in the GTA since late summer.
The GTA saw 3,100 sales in January, slightly below December 2022 volumes, and down 44.6% from the blistering pace of sales we saw last January. The sales total represents the second lowest instance of sales since 2009. The only other time sales dipped to these levels was April 2020, which of course turned out to be an anomalistic low created by Covid uncertainty. The 2020 uncertainty for the real estate market was short-lived and sales rapidly increased all the way to 15,652 by March of 2021, an all-time high. It is noteworthy that those purchasers willing to come off the sidelines and enter the market were able to realize substantial equity gains since April 2020.
Listings are still selling, on average, in less than one month.
Lack of Inventory Spurs Competition
New listings remained scarce in January. The lack of inventory is creating increased competition for desirable homes, particularly in the low-rise category. Buyers who held off last year on making a move are now competing for quality homes, and in some cases finding themselves in multiple offer scenarios given the insufficient number of listings on the market. Sellers looking to list their home in the remaining winter months may be pleasantly surprised by the attention a well maintained, well priced home will receive in this current market.
If the volume oflistings remains low, buyers, who are simultaneously feeling impatient and encouraged by stabilizing interest rates, may create some modest upwards pressure on prices on a month-over-month basis, particularly as we move into spring and more buyers come off the sidelines after waiting out the market during last year’s interest rate increases.
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