New listings down by nearly 10 per cent – TREB data

Scarce supply and red-hot competition has driven some would-be buyers in Toronto to desperate lengths in the mad dash for home purchases

Latest numbers from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) revealed that the number of new listings in April dropped by nearly 10 per cent on a year-over-year basis, a development that has driven some would-be buyers in one of the country’s most inflamed markets to desperate lengths in the mad dash for home purchases.
 
In Meredith MacLeod’s report for CTV News, the supply shortage—which also had a similar intensity last year, when new listings were down by 10 per cent—has led to a record-breaking sales-to-new-listing ratio of above 75 per cent.
 
“In Toronto specifically, the problem is the lack of inventory that we’re seeing and that’s just driving prices through the roof,” real estate agent Mitch Parker said.
 
The average home price in Toronto shot up by 13 per cent to breach the $1.2-million mark. Similarly, Vancouver saw an astounding 25 per cent growth to hit a $1.3-million average.
 
Inventory level in Toronto went down to 4.7 months, the lowest in over half a decade. Despite the short supply, however, April 2016 made history as the most active month for residential real estate sales.
 
The red-hot competition has made many prospective buyers resort to using letters, online ads, and even personal visits to potential sellers, just to beg for homes.
 
“The most recent was a young family so frantic to find a home, they printed up glossy postcard-type flyers featuring happy photos of themselves that they delivered in their target neighbourhood, hoping to find a sympathetic seller,” the CTV News report narrated.