Your Real Estate Market Update – May 2013
Price Growth Across All Major Home Types
TORONTO, June 5, 2013 – Greater Toronto Area (GTA) REALTORS® reported 10,182
sales through the TorontoMLS system in May 2013, representing a dip of 3.4 per cent
compared to May 2012. Sales of single-detached homes in the GTA were up by almost
one per cent compared to the same period last year, including a three per cent year over-year
increase in the City of Toronto.
“The sales picture in the GTA has improved markedly over the past two months. While
the number of transactions in April and May remained below last year’s levels, the rate of
decline has been much smaller. A growing number of households who put their decision
to purchase on hold as a result of stricter lending guidelines are starting to become active
again in the ownership market,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah.
The average selling price for May 2013 sales was $542,174 – up by 5.4 per cent in
comparison to $514,567 in May 2012. The annual rate of price growth was driven by the
tight low-rise segment of the market and particularly by single-detached and semidetached
home transactions in the City of Toronto. Average condominium apartment
prices were also up slightly in comparison to last year.
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 2.8 per cent year over-year.
“The annual rate of price growth in May was not surprising given the competition that
still exists between buyers, particularly for low-rise home types such as single-detached
and semi-detached houses. We remain on track for a three-and-a-half per cent increase
in the average selling price for 2013 as a whole,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior
Manager of Market Analysis.