July 2024 Housing Market Update For The GTA
After 2 consecutive interest rate cuts, are we now seeing any change in the GTA housing market? In today's blog post I will break down the latest trends in real estate by taking a look at the July 2024 housing market report for the GTA, focusing in on Toronto, York, and Durham region. And we will determine how these stats are impacting both buyers and seller.
First up, let’s talk about the Greater Toronto Area as a whole. In July, the GTA saw a bit of a slowdown compared to previous months. Overall sales were down by about 13% compared to June, but the average home price remained stable at around $1.1 million. Although we have seen a decrease in the amount of new listing for the month of July, inventory is still really high, meaning there are a lot of properties currently up for sale. Based on the stats, the numbers are telling us that interest rates still remain at a price point that is continuing to keep many buyers on the sidelines. In some areas we are seeing fewer bidding wars because of the lack of competition with other buyers and also because buyers have many home options to choose from.
So now that we have a general picture of what is happening in the GTA for the month of July, lets now get more specif with the numbers and look into the different cities, staring with Toronto.
In July, Toronto sales were down 11% compared to June. The average price for all home types in Toronto was sitting at a little over 1 million dollars. This is a decrease of about $86,000 compared to last month. Also, the number of new listings in July decreased by 11% compared to June. Out of all of the different types of homes, we are seeing that Detached homes in Toronto had the largest price drop which was about a $100,000 compare to last month. Detached homes are usually priced the highest, so it makes sense that we are seeing the largest price drop in this type of property in Toronto. What's happening, is that many homeowner that are trying to sell their detached homes are having to adjust their price points in order to get their homes sold.
Next, let's talk about York Region. Sales were down 13% compared to last month. The average price for all home types in York region was sitting at $1.3 million. This is a decrease of about $79,000 compared to last month. The number of new listings in July decreased by 9% compared to June. Just like in Toronto, detached homes in York region saw the greatest price drop, which was again a decrease of about $100,000.
Finally, let’s look at Durham Region, where affordability is still a key selling point. Sales were down 11% compared to last month. The average price for all home types in Durham region was sitting at a little over 900,000 thousand. This is a decrease of about $40,000 compared to June. Finally the number of homes listed for sale decreased by 9% compared to June. If we take a look at the average sale prices for the different home types, we will see that Condo sales saw the greatest price drop in July, which was a price drop of about a $61,000. The price drop in condo prices may be mainly due to the fact that more investors are trying to sell off their investment units, so they are being more flexible with their selling price.
So overall, based on all the stats we can see that all cities in the GTA are seeing similar trends. All numbers are on a downwards trend compared to last month. Average home prices have seen the biggest price drop in Toronto and York region, and that can be due to the fact that the homes in those areas are priced higher, so in order to be more affordable for buyers, sellers in these areas are having to adjust their prices. In Durham region there have been an increase in bidding wars for homes priced in the $500- 600 thousand range. And this is happening because this is the price point that many buyers can afford so there is more competition.
The market at this time remains balanced and inventory is still at an all time high. Many buyers are either still on vacation, waiting for further interest rate cuts, or are hoping for further price drops. The decrease in listings may be due to homeowners holding off on putting their home up for sale, because they are seeing the struggles current sellers are going through, with the lack of buyers in the market.
With all of that being said, this remains a great opportunity for qualified first time home buyers because there is lots to choose from and depending on the area, there can be more time to negotiate a better deal. Sellers on the other hand, depending on where you are, you may have to continue to be prepared for longer listing times and consider pricing competitively to attract more interest.
It will be interesting to see what happens in September, as many buyers are waiting to hear about the next interest rate announcement that is set for Sept 4. Many analysis are predicting yet another rate cut. If they are correct, we'll see if this will now be enough to encourage more buyers to make a move.
I hope this information helped give you a better understanding of what is happening in the GTA housing market for the month of July.
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