It was almost a record May for GTA resale housing sales. But do these results have legs?
After months of sales declines, the Toronto housing market rebounded to pull off a second-best-on-record performance, according to figures released recently by the Toronto Real Estate Board.
Moving into positive territory for the first time this year, GTA housing sales increased 6% to10,046 in May 2011. This despite the fact that new listings continue to decline. May new listings dropped 15% year-over-year to 16,076.
TREB President Bill Johnston comments: “The market has become much tighter compared to last year, due to a substantial dip in new listings.”
It could be that this past May was the wettest on record in the Toronto area. Or it could be that sellers are still hesitant. But the reasons for such tight market conditions are anyone’s guess. It’s not that sellers lack incentives: the average sales price of a home in the GTA continues to increase, last month by 9% to $485,520. Clearly, indications point to a seller’s market.
The question is: will the sales gains of May translate into a great selling/buying season ahead? May 2011 results provide at least some hope of a balanced market to come, but it’s too soon to say for sure. We can, however, hope for better weather. Warm and dry weather could encourage sellers to list, and a plethora of new listings could win back discouraged buyers. So let’s hear it for a sunny summer!
