Unprecedented traffic continues to drive luxury housing in the Greater Toronto Area While the second quarter of 2021 lacked the uber-exuberance of the first, overall home buying activity continued at a breakneck pace in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The number of homes sold between January and June topped 70,000, up almost 95 per cent over the 35,972 units sold during the same period in 2020, and moving at a rate set to surpass the 2016 record for annual sales (113,040) by year-end 2021. Values have also risen in lock step, with the average price of a home in the GTA up 21 per cent to $1,075,636, almost $200,000 higher than the $891,167 posted one year ago. With more than 30 years of experience in real estate, I have yet to come across a market as unrelenting as the GTA in 2021. We’ve had an unprecedented amount of traffic at multiple price points this year. Demand for luxury product – both freehold and condominium – remained exceptionally robust throughout the six-month period, with the lower end of luxury sales climbing more
BARRY COHEN, President/Broker Cohen Homes & Estates
than 200 per cent ahead of year-ago levels. 2021 sales over $2 million have eclipsed all previous years at 4,259 units, rising 255 per cent ahead of last year, and almost 72 per cent ahead of the earlier high of 2,483 sales reported in the first half of 2017.
Luxury Freehold and Condominium Sales over $2 million January 1 – June 30 | 2015 through 2021 918
1,597
2,483
1,067
1,138
1,200
4,259
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Source: TRREB Market Watch
The pandemic has continued to underscore the importance of home ownership. Despite the accelerated roll out of Covid-19 vaccines in the second quarter of 2021, buyers throughout Canada, the US, and abroad are positioning themselves for the next potential lock-down. The disposable income saved over the course of the pandemic, coupled with interest rates at historical lows, are providing a launch pad for many to enter and/or move-up within the GTA. Limited supply hampered luxury home sales yet again in the second quarter, particularly in the centre of the city, sparking multiple offers in areas like Yonge-St. Clair, Forest Hill South, Rosedale, and Lawrence Park South. Many of these homes were priced well-below market value, adding to the feeding frenzy, and leading to sales hundreds of thousands of dollars above ask. A continuation of tight inventory levels should prompt further price appreciation. Although the bulk of luxury sales occurred under $5 million, demand at higher price points reached record highs in the first half of 2021. Twenty-one homes over the $10 million price point changed hands between January and June of this year, setting a new benchmark in the Greater Toronto Area. Many of those sales occurred in the Bridle Path area, where gated estate homes situated on large acreages represent the pinnacle of success.
4
