There appears to be no sign of cooling off for Toronto’s residential housing market, with the average sale price soaring a record 33% in March from a year ago, pushing the cost of a detached home in the heart of the city to almost $1.6 million.
Figures unveiled Wednesday morning by the Toronto Real Estate Board showed that, in Toronto and surrounding suburbs, prices climbed by a third in every major housing category, including townhouses and condominiums, as demand rose and listings failed to keep pace.
TREB said the average home price in the metropolitan area rose to $916,567 from $688,011 a year earlier. Unit sales jumped 18% to 12,077.
The soaring prices and limited supply are sparking debate among decision makers on how to ensure there is enough affordable housing while trying to avoid a market crash. Options under consideration by the city and province of Ontario include a new tax on foreign buyers or a tariff on vacant homes to curb speculation.
TREB President Larry Cerqua said it’s encouraging that government officials haven’t introduced any “knee-jerk” housing policies, the Board, being among opponents of the idea of implementing a foreign buyers tax to curb price gains. The group says the real problem is a dearth of housing inventory.
At least one major bank official has been quoted as saying governments may have to intervene in the housing market if prices remain overheated.
