April 12, 2013 -- Sales through the TorontoMLS system covering the Bigger Toronto Area were down 17 percent year-over-year in March with 7,765 transactions matched against 9,385 in March 2012. It is critical to note Nonetheless, that unlike last year, this March included an approved vacation.
March also announced the end of the first quarter. There were 17,678 sales reported in the first quarter of the year down Fourteen per cent compared with last year.
Sales activity was slightly stronger in the areas surrounding the City of Toronto, with 4,874 transactions reported in the '905' / '705' regions within the TREB market area, representing a year-over-year decrease of just about 16 percent. The City of Toronto's 2,891 sales represented a reduction of Nineteen % compared against a year ago.
As has been the case over the best part of the last year, the number of active listings at the months end have been up compared to the year before. Customers have benefitted from more choice, which helps explain why the typical number of days a home remained on the market before selling has edged up. In March, the average days on market was Twenty-four days versus 21 days a year ago. With this related, active listings continue to trend below levels experienced in the pre-recession period.
On a year-over-year basis, the medium price of a GTA home sold through TorontoMLS increased by virtually four % in March to $519,879. Gains were a touch better in the City's surrounding area with average pricetag climbing by at least four % to $493,238.
The average TorontoMLS home price was up 3 % annually matched against quarter one of 2012. The City of Toronto's average cost of $564,793 represented an increase of almost 3 % compared with March 2012.
Townhouse costs in the City of Toronto saw the most serious year-over-year price gains in March, climbing by virtually 8 %. Semi-detached homes in the City of Toronto followed, growing by virtually 7 per cent. Detached homes in the City's surrounding area also showed healthy price gains, rocketing by 5 percent compared against a year ago.
One significant factor that can prompt consumers to enter the market as we move farther into spring is the affordability that five-year fixed-rate mortgages offer, at approximately three %. Less promising though , was the March unemployment rate in Toronto, which stayed stalled last month at 8.4 per cent, identical to that of the month before.
The long term picture for our City's real estate market , however, stays positive, supported by the Bigger Toronto Area's propitious reputation. Recently, three GTA municipalities Newmarket, Oakville and Burlington ranked within the top 10 of MoneySense magazine's yearly "Best Places to Live in Canada" report, which examines factors that contribute to quality of life including work, incomes, housing affordability, weather, crime statistics and access to medical treatment. Actually 8 GTA municipalities, including the City of Toronto, ranked in the top Thirty on the report's list of Two hundred towns.
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