Toronto's detached home sales catching up to multi-family activity

The detached segment appears to have shaken off the malaise it has suffered in previous months

Toronto's detached home sales catching up to multi-family activity

Transaction information from the Toronto Real Estate Board covering the period August 1-15, 2018 showed that activity in the detached housing segment is steadily catching up to multi-family sales, especially in comparison to last month’s numbers.

The TREB data indicated that detached home sales went up by 12% year-over-year in the City of Toronto and up 17% in the GTA.

These were considerable improvements from the Board’s mid-July numbers, which showed detached sales declining by 4% year-over-year in the City of Toronto and increasing by 9% across the GTA.

Read more: GTA leads way in July

Meanwhile, condo townhouses have seen sales activity increase by 31% year-over-year in the City of Toronto and by 9% in the GTA. Sales of condo apartments remained flat in the City of Toronto and grew by 6% across the GTA.

A recent study by real estate investment services company Marcus & Millichap pointed at elevated prices as the main motivator for the continuous strength of Toronto’s multi-family housing market, and of apartments in particular.

The report further noted that demand for both residential and commercial apartments has not abated despite regulatory changes.

“Rent controls put in place recently have yet to slow investor demand or rent growth as was previously feared. Strong rental demand and improving property performance will keep sales activity elevated this year, particularly in areas near employment hubs with transit connectivity,” according to the study.