Prices Up, Listings Down: TREB

Prices continue to appreciate, and listings are moving in the other direction, according to the latest figures released by TREB.

There were 10,046 sales in May 2011, which represents a rise of 6% over May of last year, and is the second best May on record. New listings fell by 15%, year-over-year.

“Positive economic news and low borrowing costs led to strong sales through the first five months of the year, including the increase in May,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Bill Johnston. “At the same time, the market has become much tighter compared to last year, due to a substantial dip in new listings.”

On average, homes were on the market for 23 days, and sold for an average of $485,520- which represents a rise of 9% over last May’s $ 446,593. Single detached homes led the charge in terms of price growth.

“We have seen clear-cut seller’s market conditions emerge over the past two to three months,” explained Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “The robust price appreciation that we have seen will hopefully prompt more households to list, resulting in a more balanced market later this year,” continued Mercer.

Looking at year-over-year sales number by housing type, single detached homes rose by 8%; Semi-detached remained unchanged; sales numbers for townhouses rose by 10%; condo sales rose by 4%.

In terms of prices, single detached homes rose by 10%; prices for semi-detached homes rose by 8%; townhouses rose by 6% and condo prices went up by 5%.