The TRREB MLS System received a record 121,712 reported residential sales for 2021. Sales for 2021 exceeded the previous record in 2016 by 7.7% and were up 28% over closed transactions for 2020. Due to the tight market conditions of insufficient supply for the housing demand, the average selling price jumped to $1,095,475, a 17.4% increase over the previous year.
TRREB president, Kevin Crigger, has noted that much of the growth in sales can be attributed to the increased desirability for homes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). He also points out that economic growth has supported job creation and attractive borrowing rates, both contributing factors to the record numbers.
The lack of inventory throughout the GTA and the Greater Golden Horseshoe during 2021 created strong competition among buyers and a double-digit increase in the average selling price. TRREB Chief Market Analyst, Jason Mercer, believes that the only way to moderate price growth is to increase the housing supply. Mercer has concluded that the presence of foreign buyers, small-scale investors, and increased taxation on principal residences has not helped solve the problems of housing affordability and housing supply.
Even though December sales contributed 6,031sales to the 2021 recorded total, sales were down 15.7% from December 2020. The decreased supply of available residences was evident by the 11.9% drop in listings to 5,174. December 2021 sales bolstered the record-breaking average sales price for the year by having a year-over-year increase of 24.2%.
The record pace of home ownership and increase in sales for 2021 is rooted in the home buyer interest that is taking place within the City of Toronto, where sales increased by 36.8% year-over-year.
The increase is substantially higher than the sales growth for ground-oriented homes for the surrounding Greater Toronto Area (GTA) suburbs, where the increase in sales was 23.63%.
This trend is being driven by the revival of sales in the condo apartment segment in the city of Toronto. The demand for home ownership has been sparked by the creation of new jobs with above-average income potential.
The impact of the sale of condos can be seen by the overall 52.2% increase in total sales year-over-year. In December 2021, Toronto had nearly twice as many condo sales as the GTA, 23,123 versus 10,668.
Again, the supply shortage issue increased average sales price year-over-year by 8.2%. The average condo sales price for December 2021 was $681,218.
Townhouse sales also helped fuel record sales. For December, total townhouse sales for the GTA and Toronto were 20,930, a 27.4% increase year-over-year.
Toronto realized 4,733 of the townhouse sales reported. The average sales price of a townhouse in these areas was $883,466, which was driven up by 20.2% over 2020.
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