Greater Toronto home sales fell slightly last month to cap a year that saw buyers take advantage of “substantial negotiating power” on price.
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board said 3,359 homes were sold in December throughout the Greater Toronto Area, down 1.8 per cent compared with 3,419 in the same month the previous year.
The average selling price fell 1.6 per cent compared with a year earlier to $1,067,186, as the composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was up by less than one per cent year-over-year.
There were 4,681 new listings throughout the GTA last month, up 20.2 per cent from a year earlier.
In the City of Toronto, there were 1,174 sales in December, a 6.7 per cent decrease from last year. For the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 1.1 per cent to 2,185.
Sales of semi-detached and detached homes fell 9.3 per cent and 5.8 per cent, respectively, while 5.8 per cent more townhouses and 2.3 per cent more condos changed hands.
The board called 2024 a “transitionary” year for the region’s housing market as sales rose 2.6 per cent to 67,610 — outpaced by a 16.4 per cent increase in new listings, at 166,121.
TRREB president Elechia Barry-Sproule said borrowing costs were top of mind for buyers in 2024.
“High interest rates presented significant affordability hurdles and kept home sales well below the norm,” Barry-Sproule said in a news release.
“The housing market did benefit from substantial Bank of Canada rate cuts in the second half of the year, including two large back-to-back reductions. All else being equal, further rate cuts in 2025 and home prices remaining below their historic peaks should result in improved market conditions over the next 12 months.”
The board said the imbalance of new listings and sales levels gave buyers “considerable choice” in the marketplace and effectively prevented widespread price growth.
The average selling price for all home types combined was $1,117,600 in 2024, a decline of less than one per cent compared with 2023.
Market conditions were tighter for ground-oriented housing, with TRREB noting increased sales of single-family homes such as detached houses. Meanwhile, condo sales were down as those properties experienced “more notable” price declines.
Real estate watchers in the region have said the combination of high interest rates and an uptick in new condo units coming online last year led to an oversupply that will take time to balance out.
“Many would-be first-time buyers remained on the sidelines, anticipating more interest rate relief in 2025,” TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer said.
“The lack of first-time buyers impacted the less-expensive condo segment more so than the single-family segments.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2025.