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Hi, it’s Miia here with your monthly update. Today I’ll talk about what’s happening with the number of sales, why the March statistics are so wacky, why the market has been so difficult for buyers and what’s happening with home prices.

Record Number of Sales for Third Straight Month

The statistics for March are in, and what they’re showing is that the number of home sales listed on the TRREB MLS® system was a record high for the third month in a row. Buyers are taking advantage of favourable borrowing costs as well as the continued improvement in many sectors of the economy.

First Month of Wacky Statistics

March marked the first month the year-over-year comparisons are significantly abnormal due to the effects of the pandemic.

As you may recall, the pandemic hit the GTA in mid-March of 2020. In the beginning of March 2020, sales had been higher than that of the same period the year before by 49%, but in the second half of March, sales dropped by 15.9%, and later we would find out that in April sales would drop even more, by 67.0%.

So, when we compare March of this year to March of last year, it’s a good idea to remember what was happening in March of last year; it was an unusual month. If we compare the first half of the month to that of last year, then sales were up by 41%. Looking at the second half of the month, sales were up by 174%, which makes sense given that March 2021 had no major disruptions in sales like March 2020 had.

Overall for the entire month of March, the number of sales was up by 97.0% year-over-year.

Why Has the Market Been So Difficult for Buyers? New Listings vs Number of Sales

While the number of sales was up by 97.0%, the number of new listings was up by 57.3%. While impressive, I’m sure that you can appreciate that a 57.3% increase in the home listings is not near enough to keep up with the 97.0% increase in sales. In other words, as homes were being sold, there weren’t as many new listings to replace them, and the market tightened in favour of sellers.

Average Home Price

Over the past 6 months, month-to-month, the overall GTA average home price has fluctuated:

• September to October: +0.8%
• October to November: -1.3%
• November to December: -2.5%
• December to January: +3.7%
• January to February: +7.4%
• February to March: +4.7%

Eventually in these hot sellers’ markets, affordability can get out of reach when salaries do not keep up with home price increases, and those kinds of effects cool the hot market down, because buyers who are priced out give up and find other solutions to their housing needs. In some areas of the GTA, we are seeing that the rapidly increasing prices are levelling off, and selling strategies are constantly adjusting.

As always, if you are thinking of buying or selling, speak with your Realtor about the current market for your home type and area of interest, because we can provide much more specific information for you than I am providing in this video.

That’s my update for this month. If you have any questions, let me know.

Bye for now.

Miia